


Jamais Vu

by KlonoaDreams



Category: Persona 5
Genre: A really small cat, Alternate Universe - Canon, And Joker is such a cat, Arsene is such a dad, But she's still supposed to be Akira, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Eventual Relationships, Family, Fem!Joker, Female Protagonist, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Genderbending, Haru is precious and if Atlus won't shower her with the love she deserves THEN I WILL, Height Differences Galore, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Joker has a different name, Joker with a different background, Morgana acts like a cat despite being a not-cat, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Protective Ann is Protective, Ryuuji is a soft boy, Ryuuji's been allowed to say fuck, This fic also functions as an AU where everyone but Morgana is taller than Joker, Trans Character, my city now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2018-11-07 06:37:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 68,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11053392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KlonoaDreams/pseuds/KlonoaDreams
Summary: Kimura Jun has never been particularly lucky. It's something that she's come to terms with after being sent away on probation. Though after a sudden turn of events, she finds that there's only so much she can take before she's decides she's had enough...and fights back.





	1. Far Away From Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all, guess who’s back in the _Persona_ fandom? Yooo, it’s Noa here with another fanfic, even though I have many other fics that I need to update an eventually finish…but whatever!
> 
> So anyways, here’s the _Persona 5_ fanfic that I’ve been talking about writing on [my tumblr](http://klonoadreams.tumblr.com/)! I’ve even started streaming the game on my twitch channel ([that I have under the same name](https://www.twitch.tv/klonoadreams/)) and have the first streaming session up on my YouTube. I call it the Fanfiction Run and for a good reason, because it’s basically gonna be the basis to this fic, in the same way I was playing _Persona 4 Golden_ while writing _Façade_.
> 
> But that’s enough about that, let’s get onto the disclaimer!
> 
> **DISCLAIMER FOR ENTIRE STORY: I don't own anything related to the Shin Megami Tensei series, which includes the Persona series, and Atlus!**
> 
> Also, knowing how _Façade_ went…don’t expect this fic to keep its T rating. It’s honestly only a matter of time before someone gets an awkward boner. Anyways, let’s get this story started!!

"What? Are you for real? A mental shutdown?"

"It's the truth!"

"To a person though? That's gotta be a joke. You really love all that occult stuff, don't you?"

A glasses-wearing girl quietly observes a nearby conversation between two friends—a pair of girls who seem close to her age. A thought pops up in mind, telling her that she shouldn't eavesdrop on people's conversations (no matter how boring the train ride is), so she looks down at the bag resting on her lap. She hopes they didn't notice her staring and tries her best to distract herself by twirling a lock of her black hair in her fingers.

It won't be much longer now until her stop.  _"Just a little more…"_

The girl tries her best to stay awake, almost nodding off a few times before the train finally came to a stop. She grabs her bag and stands up, taking a moment to yawn loudly before going on her way. She pulls out her phone as she gets off the train and ignores the feeling of unease that begins to well up inside of her.

She is in a new environment—one that is quite noisy and crowded. It makes her feel anxious the longer she stands still and the fact that she is at the complete mercy of her smartphone's GPS isn't making her feel any better.

"Transfer from Shibuya Station to Den-en-toshi Line…" she reads off the screen of her smartphone. Her GPS at least is doing its job…now if only it can tell her  _where_ the Den-en-toshi Line is.  _"Not again…"_

She doubts she'll have enough time to look for it on her own, so she musters up enough courage and asks a nearby police officer for help. She tries her best not to tense up when he responds. She manages, although just barely. She finds it ridiculous that she feels so nervous around the man, when he's proven to be rather polite and helpful.

" _Maybe…I shouldn't have gone alone."_  The thought pops up so suddenly in her head that it catches her by surprise. She blinks twice and, for a brief moment, wonders if it wouldn't be too late for her to make a call. All it would take is one call to get her out of this situation. She doesn't have to do this alone—she knows this quite well, for how often she's been told just that before boarding the train to Shibuya.

"Did you get all that?" The police officer's voice snaps her out of her thoughts. "If you'd like, I can repeat myself."

"P-Please do," she quietly says. This time, she listens intently to what the officer has to say. She doesn't let herself get distracted by her own thoughts and pushes away the urge that insists she makes a call. She has managed to get this far on her own—it really wouldn't do her any good to give up now when she's so close to her final destination. "Thank you."

The girl leaves the police officer feeling somewhat breathless, yet determined. She now has the information she needs and the only thing stopping her now is herself. And then she takes her first step outside of Shibuya Station and sees, for the first time in person, the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing.

" _There are so many people…"_  Much more than what she saw inside the station. Just the mere sight of it is enough to leave her wide-eyed in awe. About a minute passes before her phone beeps and snaps her out of her thoughts.  _"Oh right—Den-en-toshi Line…"_

That's where she needs to go. Though, before that, she checks her phone to investigate the sound it made. She expects it to be a notification for a message or maybe an update for one of her apps. Instead, she finds that it's something completely different.

There is a red and black icon of an eye on her screen. There's a star in place of where a pupil would be within the iris and the red background it's on has an eerie glow to it that makes it appear as though it's pulsating. The icon is small at first, but after a few seconds, it enlarges itself on its own. It's now large enough to take up the entire screen and as a result, blocks the map and set of directions from her GPS.

" _Huh?"_  She doesn't recall ever downloading such an app… She taps on it once out of curiosity, but nothing happens.  _"Did my phone freeze?"_

She taps on the icon a few more times and sighs when nothing continues to happen.  _Great_ …she might as well restart her phone. Maybe  _then_  it will start responding, so she can get rid of the weird app.

" _It's probably a virus…"_  Knowing her luck, it probably is.  _"And I just got this phone, too…"_

She runs her fingers through her long, messy hair. The action eases some of her distress, though not enough to change her mood. It is at that moment that something out of the corner of her eye catches her attention. She looks over her shoulder and sees that a man talking on his smartphone who was passing by her just… _stop_.

Time had slowed to a halt and when she looks around at the crowd of people swarming the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, she is treated to a similar sight as before. Within seconds, everyone, except for her, freezes in place. There is no sound—all she can hear is her own breathing, which is growing more and more erratic with each passing second.

" _What is this?!"_  She swallows hard, feeling far more overwhelmed than ever at the sight of a motionless crowd. Her stomach churns uncomfortably and her hands are far too sweaty for her own liking. She closes her eyes and focuses on controlling her breaths. When she opens her eyes, she sees something moving in the distance—blue flames flickering in the air with such intensity.

Seconds pass and the flames begin to take a more humanoid shape. It is of an imposing height, which makes it easier for her to see, despite the crowd in front of her. Suddenly, a large burst of flames erupts from the back of the humanoid figure. It flares outwards in two directions in a manner that resembles a bird spreading its wings before taking off into the skies.

The sight itself reflects off the lenses of her glasses as she stares out in awe. A vision suddenly comes to her, of a face developing from the flames. It stares back at her, with eerie eyes and a manic grin made out of red flames. Then, from within those flames, she sees her own face—with yellow eyes that are just as eerie and a wide grin to match.

The vision ends just as she finally snaps back into reality. She blinks a few times and then looks around once more. Time has resumed, the bustling crowd no longer frozen in place. She hears more sounds than just her own—of people talking as they make their way across the crosswalk.

" _Wha…?"_  She is at a loss at what to make of this…so she just sighs and deletes the strange app on her smartphone. She barely has much time to think when she notices that the time reads 16:45 on her phone.  _"This late already?!"_

She's going to miss her train if she doesn't get going! With that thought in mind, she finds that she no longer has any hesitations. She shoves her phone into her pocket and takes off in the direction she needs to go. She stops for no one and rather than take the escalators or stairs down, she jumps instead. There aren't that many people on the stairs, which makes it easier for her when she lands at the bottom of the stairs.

People stop to stare at her, while a few others begin to talk about her. She ignores them and keeps running, increasing her pace when she sees her train beginning to close its doors. She makes it in time, her long hair barely avoiding the doors as they closed shut behind her.

"Safe!" she pants out. It takes her several seconds, as she is catching her breath, to realize that people are staring at her. When she finally notices, she averts her gaze and, very quietly, says, "Excuse me."

The train ride to Yongen-Jaya is quiet, yet awkward. It takes every fiber of her being to keep herself from squirming whenever it comes to her attention that people are talking about her. She really should've thought twice before pulling such a stunt…

" _Not like this was the last train to Yongen-Jaya…"_  Well, it's too late to do anything about it now… "Huh?"

Her phone beeps a few times and when she pulls it out of her pocket to check what it is, she sees that she's received a notification for a new message. She taps on the screen to open the message and then reads it. A smile tugs at her lips afterwards. The message is from one of her uncles—asking her if she's doing fine on her own. A part of her wants to say no, but she stops herself.

Instead, she messages back, saying she's fine—ignoring the stunt she pulled to avoid missing her train. The last thing she needs is any of her uncles worrying about her or worse—her parents.

Speaking of which…

 

> _Tell Eomma and Papa that I'm fine._

The message stays on her screen for a few seconds after it's written, her thumb hovering over the send button before she decides to discard it. It's better if she waits for her parents to contact her instead—just in case. For now, this is fine.

" _Nothing gets by Eomma…"_  So she'll likely know of her daughter's response by the end of the day.  _"I wonder how everyone's doing…"_

It's strange, being so far away from home.

" _How long ago did that happen again?"_  She knows this isn't the first time she's been far away from home. Although, considering the situation regarding  _that_  incident…  _"Is this any better?"_

When she stops to actually think about it, she didn't have to worry about some asshole pinning a crime on her— _especially_  one she didn't commit. The most she had to worry about is one of her uncles' conditions worsening while he was admitted at the hospital. Other than that, it was nothing out of the ordinary… Although, it  _did_  become the reason she was homeschooled up until her first day of middle school.

Still…it could've been worse and really, her current situation  _is_  worse.

" _I guess that's just my luck…"_

…

…

The girl arrives at Yongen-Jaya Station without any issues and leaves shortly after, feeling less pressed for time than before. Her GPS guides her to her next destination, which is a small neighborhood. It takes her less than ten minutes to walk there and the first thing she notices upon arrival is how quiet it is.

It's a welcomed change of pace after spending so much time in a noisy and crowded environment. It's not as large as Shibuya, although it definitely feels much more spacious in comparison. According to her map, there are a few shops in the area, as well as a clinic. There is also a public bath and laundromat. There's even a movie theater and a café—but that's not what brings her here to Yongen-Jaya.

"My homestay should be here at this address…" She only has enough time to memorize the address before her phone's screen goes black and gives her a flashing image of an empty battery.  _"Seriously?!"_

Just when she thought her luck couldn't get any worse…

" _At least I got the address down before it shut off…"_  She would have been in some serious trouble if it happened earlier while she was in Shibuya.  _"Whatever…"_

She shoves her phone into her bag and then goes on her way. It's a small neighborhood, so it shouldn't take her too long to find that address. That would have likely been the case, had she any  _inkling_  of information regarding her current location. From where she stands, she knows nothing and as a result, she finds nothing.

It's surprisingly easy to go around in circles, despite being such a small neighborhood. More than twice, she's entered the residential area and had to backtrack to avoid getting anymore lost than she already is. She spends ten minutes shopping at a grocery store, if only to buy a snack to ease both her nerves and hunger. It's not bad food, though she feels she's wasted enough time as is just stumbling about.

She is  _elated_  when she discovers the location of the batting cages and almost reaches for her phone to message one of her uncles. It takes her a moment to realize her mistake, to which she all but pouts when she looks at her phone's black screen.

" _Right…it's dead…"_  It's why she's lost.  _"I guess I'll tell Shibi later…"_

Until then, she has to find her homestay…wherever that is.

" _Maybe I should ask…"_  There's a police officer nearby—one she's taken to ignoring, despite how many times she's walked right by him. She hesitates to approach him, losing whatever nerve she had when he suddenly looks in her direction. "Ahh…"

He stares at her for a moment and then smiles.

" _Uh-oh…"_  She really doesn't like the look of that…  _"Crap—he's coming closer!"_

In a sudden turn of unexpected events, it is the police officer that approaches  _her_  and not the other way around. He stops in front of her and kneels down to her level, being far taller than she is.

"Are you lost?" he asks in such a calm tone.

"Y-Yes?" There's no use in lying, despite how much she wants to. Of course, she's far too tense to even try and she doubts the officer will even believe her if she does. "D-Do you know wh-where I can find Sakura Sōjirō? I-I have his address…"

…

…

It takes less than five minutes for the girl to finally find arrive at the address of Sakura Sōjirō. She takes a moment to confirm if the two-story house in front of her is in fact his and checks the nameplate that's to the left of the doorbell. She rings the doorbell the instant she sees "Sakura" on the nameplate.

" _I hope I didn't take too long…"_  It'd be nice if she could check the time, but her phone's too dead to function and she forgot to ask the officer after getting directions from him.  _"…Is anyone home?"_

She rang the doorbell…but no one is coming to answer the door.

" _Oh no…"_  Maybe he had gone out while she was lost…  _"Guess I'll have to wait for him, then…"_

Well, it's a lot better than being lost.

" _It better not rain…"_  She doesn't like how cloudy the sky looks and hopes that Sōjirō doesn't take too long to return home.

"Looks like no one's home…" And it seems she isn't the only person who has business with Sōjirō. A parcel deliveryman approaches the house, carrying a package in one arm. He tugs down on his cap and sighs…then it suddenly hits him. "Oh yeah—Sakura-san's usually at his café around this time."

 _"That's right—he has a café!"_  She wonders if it's the one that she saw on her GPS. She hopes it is, if only for how close the distance is.

"Well, Café Leblanc's in the back alley, so I should make other deliveries first…" And it looks like she has a café to find. This is turning out better than she expected, especially since she didn't need to  _ask_  anyone for directions.

" _Now where's that back alley…"_  It shouldn't take her too long to find it—she's gone through it at least once during her attempts to locate the Sakura Residence on her own.

…

…

Today is just another day for Sakura Sōjirō, the glasses-wearing owner of Leblanc Coffee & Curry. He is a middle-aged man with dark hair that's slicked back and a chinstrap beard with a goatee that flares out. He wears a pink dress shirt with khaki capris, white shoes, and a black apron with white vertical lines. At the current moment, he is filling out a crossword puzzle to pass the time.

He sits across from his only customers—an elderly man and woman—that are seated in one of the booths. He makes no attempt to initiate any conversations with them as he lacks any motivation to do so.

" _ **A public transit bus was driven down an opposing lane with its customers still in it! The citizens can't live in peace if this keeps up."**_

He doesn't bother to look at the television, either, despite the news that is being reported.

"How frightening," the elderly man remarks.

"What could be going on?" the elderly woman asks. "Didn't something similar happen just the other day?"

"Vertical is…the name of a shellfish used for farming pearls…" Sōjirō has nothing to add to their conversation, being far too engrossed in his crossword puzzle to really care. It is as he's filling in the empty squares on the puzzle that the bell that hangs from door starts ringing. It seems that someone has entered the café.  _"About damn time…"_

He expects it to be a customer and is somewhat surprised to see a police officer when he looks up. Before he can even say anything, the police officer opens his mouth and asks, "Sir, did you lose a child?"

"A child…?" Sōjirō adjusts his glasses. It takes a moment for him to react—a moment in which an image of a glasses-wearing girl with orange hair pops up in his mind. "Wait—what?! Is she okay?!"

It takes every fiber of his being to keep himself from panicking after that outburst. He tries to keep his cool when he discards the newspaper on his lap and stands up. He has so many questions he wants to ask, though what he wants to know the most is what happened.

"Did something happen at…" Sōjirō trails off when he notices the glasses-wearing girl accompanying the police officer. "Huh?"

He expects a glasses-wearing girl with long hair—which is what he sees. The length is about the same, reaching down to her hips, but the color is all wrong. It's an unruly, ink-black mess that provides an interesting contrast to how neatly she wears her clothes. She wears a black, buttoned-up blazer with red buttons and a red-and-black plaid skirt with black tights. Underneath her blazer, she wears a white turtleneck shirt that has a black bow on the collar.

"Uhh…are you Sakura Sōjirō?" she asks, shifting awkwardly under his gaze.

It takes only until Sōjirō notices the emblem on her blazer for everything to click into place. "That's right—they did say that was today…what took you so long?"

"My phone died, so I got lost…" She clutches her bag tightly against her chest and looks down at her feet. "Sorry I kept you waiting."

Sōjirō scratches the back of his head and sighs. "Just don't let it happen again."

"I guess I'll be going, then," the police officer suddenly says, deciding he's done his job in helping the girl out. He leaves the café shortly after and it is only once the door has closed and the bell has stopped ringing that the elderly couple stands up.

"We'll be going now," the elderly man says. "The payment's on the table."

"Thanks for coming," Sōjirō says as a force of habit.

"This place is in the back alley so there's no worries of a car crashing in here," the elderly man remarks, to which the elderly woman nods her head in agreement.

"A what now?" The comment catches Sōjirō by surprise. He vaguely recalls what was being mentioned on the television, though not enough to really understand.

"There's been a string of those rampant accidents, you know," the elderly man explains. "I just hope that none happen around here."

"It's none of my concern," Sōjirō says as his eyes quickly glance over the girl in his café.

The elderly man only chuckles. "Haha, we'll see you next time."

He and the woman take their leave and it is only after the door shuts that Sōjirō sighs loudly in exasperation.

"…Four hours just for a single cup of Joe." Sōjirō scratches the back of his head and then looks at the girl. "A child, huh?"

"I'm sixteen," she responds. The light reflects off her glasses in a way that makes her lenses look opaque. It would make for an eerie sight, were she not so short. "And only 146.5 cm, in case you're wondering…"

" _So she_ _ **is**_ _shorter than her…"_  Sōjirō almost wants to laugh. "Kimura Jun…right?"

"That's me." Jun nods her head in confirmation. "Please take care of me."

So this is the girl he'll be caring for the next year…

"I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh?" Sōjirō admits he wasn't expecting someone so… _small_. "Hard to believe you have a criminal record."

"…" Jun has no comment to make.

"Have you been told?" Sōjirō asks her. "A customer of mine and your parents know each other and—"

"Shiba—that's him, right?" Jun only knows as much as she's been told. It's only enough that she feels she can let her guard down for a bit. "Says your coffee is really good…"

Sōjirō blinks twice and then smiles. "I always did say he had good taste…how's he been doing?"

He hasn't seen Shiba in a while, considering Shiba only comes by whenever he's in the area.

"He's fine…" Jun says as she begins to play with her hair. "He says he might not be able to visit…"

Sōjirō can only assume why. No matter—it's none of his business anyways. "Follow me."

…

…

"This will be your room," Sōjirō tells Jun after leading her up a flight of stairs into the attic. It's a cluttered, dusty mess that's unpleasant to look at. He notices that she wants to say something, but refrains from doing so. "I'll at least give you sheets for your bed…do you have something you wanna say?"

"It's big." That's all she manages to say before going silent.

"Of course it is." Sōjirō snorts, finding it rather funny to hear that comment from such a tiny girl. "Although, it's on you to clean up the rest…you can do that, right?"

He's only heard bits and pieces about Jun's home-life—that she's grown up quite sheltered, due to an incident that happened while she was in kindergarten. He wouldn't be surprised if she came off as a spoiled brat from how much attention she received over the years, though he doesn't want to assume.

"I'm capable of cleaning up my own messes, if that's what you're wondering…" Dark gray eyes stare up fiercely at Sōjirō.

"Your sass is not appreciated." Though, Sōjirō should've expected it. "So here's how it's gonna go—I'll be leaving after I lock up each day. You'll be alone at night, so don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause any trouble… Do you understand?"

"Yes." There's a look in Jun's eyes that make her look so defeated—as though she's lost the will to fight. Whatever fire she had previously just up and vanished.

"Now then…" Sōjirō pulls out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "I got the gist of your situation. You protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he got injured, then sued you. Right?"

There is no response from Jun. She just averts her gaze and stays quiet.

"That's what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults." Sōjirō's words are like a slap to Jun's face. "Worry more about yourself first before anything—a girl your size shouldn't be getting herself into such dangerous situations in the first place."

There is nothing that Jun has to say to that, despite how much she wants to. She just can't seem to find her voice…

"The situation escalated and you managed to injure him, yeah?" Sōjirō continues. "At some point, you got accused of participating in compensated dating, which has done nothing to help with your case. So now you've got a criminal record and been expelled by your previous high school."

Jun recalls how hard her family fought for her innocence, to the point of nearly risking their own safety… In the end, it just wasn't enough.

"The courts ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your parents also approved." Jun remembers the reluctance her parents showed when they gave their approval. "Am I wrong?"

She frowns. "No…"

"Anyways, it's best you not talk about anything unnecessary." Sōjirō lights up a cigarette. "I am in the restaurant business, you know. Behave yourself for the year. If nothing happens, your probation will be lifted."

"Probation?" The word feels so strange and unfamiliar on Jun's tongue. Even now, it still feels so unreal…

"Really now…" Sōjirō takes a long drag of his cigarette. A thin, trail of smoke leaves his mouth when he exhales. "It's the word that applies to you. Your sentence lasts until next spring, right? That's why you're gonna be here for the coming year."

Jun can only nod her head.

"Cause any problems, and you'll be sent straight to juvie." Sōjirō's tone is harsh and assertive. "We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow."

"Shujin…?" Jun repeats.

"Shujin High School—the school you'll be attending." Sōjirō taps on the emblem on Jun's blazer. "You're wearing their uniform, so try to be more self-aware."

"…" Jun brushes Sōjirō's hand away. "Don't touch me."

Sōjirō blinks once, but does as he's told. "We'll introduce ourselves properly to the staff there. There's rarely a place that'll accept someone like you, you know."

"I know…" Sometimes, Jun wonders if she should have continued being homeschooled. It could've saved her a lot of trouble…

"What a waste of my Sunday…" Sōjirō can't keep himself from complaining. "Your 'luggage' arrived earlier, so I left them over there."

Jun looks at the large box behind Sōjirō. "Oh…thank you."

"You sure packed a lot—it was rather heavy to move." Sōjirō can only wonder what is inside the box.

"Sorry…" Jun has a feeling that her uncles went overboard when they packed up her things. Maybe she should have cared more about it…  _"Too late for that."_

"You're free to do as you wish," Sōjirō says. "I have to get back downstairs. Just try not to make too much noise up here."

When Sōjirō reaches the bottom of the stairs, he pulls out his cellphone and makes a call. "Hey, it's me—how are you doing?"

Back upstairs, Jun makes her way over to the cardboard box in the center of the room. She opens it up and sees that it's full of clothes and daily necessities, of which includes a brush that she knows she won't use.

"I should change into more comfortable clothes for now…" It wouldn't do her any good to get her school uniform dirty… So she pulls out a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt with black sleeves. She feels a lot more comfortable after changing out of her uniform, her new outfit allowing her more freedom to relax.  _"Now let's see what the damage is…"_

Jun looks closely at one of the shelves in the room. Her face contorts when she sees that there's rust on some of its parts. There are so many difficult-looking books that have been crammed into it…

" _So dusty…"_  It makes her almost want to cough.  _"What's over here?"_

In the far corner of the room, there's a desk with a stack of books on top. It can't be used in its current state, so Jun decides that it's best that she starts cleaning now. It takes her some time to go downstairs and ask Sōjirō for some cleaning supplies, but the moment she has them, she gets to work.

She struggles at times with cleaning, due to her short height limiting her reach. It's easily solved with the help of a chair that she gets on top of for a boost, though the struggle continues with how much care she has to take in order to not fall off. Mopping, by far, is the easiest thing she can do that requires so little effort. Even moving the cardboard box into an empty space on the shelf by the stairs is easier than dusting.

" _So tired…"_  she thinks when she plops down onto her bed for a break. She had just finished covering the mattress with a bedsheet. It's white, clean, and smells faintly of detergent—overall, not too bad. It feels nice against her face…  _"No—I gotta clean!"_

Jun sits up so suddenly, realizing she was just seconds away from falling asleep. She runs her fingers through her hair and sighs when she sees how much more she still has left to clean.

…

…

It's late in the evening when Sōjirō comes up to check up on Jun. The first thing he notices is how much cleaner the attic appears. It's still just as messy, but it's a huge improvement to how it previously was.

"So you  _were_  cleaning…" Sōjirō smirks when Jun stares at him with tired eyes. "I guess it doesn't look too bad, either… Good work, Ojou."

"Hmm…" Jun rubs at her eyes and resists the urge to yawn. "Don' call me that…'s weird…"

"Why don't you go to bed for tonight?" Sōjirō can see how exhausted Jun is. "You don't have anything better to be doing, right? I'm going to close up shop and get out of here myself. I won't be the one looking after you if you get sick from staying up too late, you got that?"

All he receives as a response is a loud yawn from Jun. He shakes his head and makes his way downstairs. Jun waits a minute before walking over to the cardboard box containing her clothes. She pulls it out and opens it up to get her sleepwear out.

She changes in the restroom downstairs, deciding not to take her chances, despite Sōjirō having left. She leaves the restroom wearing a loose, black shirt with a baggy pair of olive-green sweatpants. She ignores the fact that she hasn't taken a bath as she walks up the stairs.

" _I can take a bath tomorrow…"_  Right now, all Jun wants to do is sleep.

She lays on her bed and stares up at the ceiling. She tries her best to sleep, but finds that she can't—not now, at least. It's hard when she's trapped with her own thoughts.

" _Arrest…trial…criminal record…"_  She got in so much trouble for helping someone out…  _"Still, I couldn't just let that go…"_

That day…she had to go home early…

…

…

* * *

_It was late in the evening, back in her hometown neighborhood. Jun was walking home from cram school, having left earlier than usual. It's not something she did often, preferring to stay late in order to get more studying done. But while Jun was on her way to cram school, a phone call from her mother changed all that._

" **We're having dinner together, so don't stay late. Save your questions for your teachers tomorrow."**

_So when she left early, she felt a little excited to head home as soon as possible. It's enough to take her mind off of how empty the streets were at night and how alone she really was._

" _Just get in the car!"_

" _Stop it!"_

_That's when she heard them—a man and a woman arguing in the distance. They were just up ahead of her and though a small voice in her head was telling her to ignore it, she kept going in order to investigate._

" _How dare you cross me!" The man sounded so aggressive._

" _Stop it—let me go!" And the woman—she really was so distressed._

_Jun picked up the pace and started running. She ignored the pounding of her heart and the way her mind screamed at her to turn back. There were so many things she could do instead of this, but it just didn't occur to her because of how concerned she was for the woman who was calling out for help._

" _No…!"_

" _Don't give me that shit…"_

_A drunk man was bothering a woman, ignoring every one of her pleas in his attempts to drag her into his car. This was the scene that Jun walked into, without any proper preparation whatsoever on what to do. She stares out in horror, her stomach churning in disgust._

" _ **I can't ignore this!"**_ _There's no way she can just walk away from this. She needed to do something about this…_

" _Tch…what a waste of my time," the drunk man complained, finding the woman's struggles to be nothing more than an inconvenience. "You think you're worth causing me trouble? Huh?"_

" _Hey—let her go!" Jun wasn't thinking at all—she just blurted out the first thing that came into her head. There was no reaction from the drunk man, but the woman heard her clearly. Just knowing that she wasn't alone gave her the strength to continue fighting back._

" _I-I'll call the police!" she threatened the drunk man. She tried her best to look as defiant as possible, though her expression wavered when the man started laughing._

" _Heh, call them if you want!" The drunk man didn't care. "The police are my bitches. They're not gonna take you seriously."_

_He managed to wrap his arms around the woman, pressing her closely to his chest. It was lot more difficult for her to resist, but that didn't stop her from trying._

" _No…Stop…!" It took a lot of effort, but the woman managed to squirm out of the drunk man's hold. Freedom had never felt so great, although it didn't last. Before the woman can take off running, the drunk man reached out and grabbed her by the wrist._

_The situation was escalating in a direction that Jun was hoping to avoid. She took a few steps closer to the confrontation, stopping only when she noticed how badly she was trembling. She swallowed hard and tried her best to stay calm—it wouldn't do her any good if she looked so scared._

_That was when the sounds of sirens began blaring in the distance. A wave of relief washed over Jun. Someone had called the police._

" _ **They're on their way."**_ _Meaning it was only a matter of time before the police arrived._ _ **"Maybe now he'll stop!"**_

" _Someone called the cops, huh? Get in the car!" Except he didn't…instead, the drunk man seemed far more annoyed and irritated than concerned. "Incompetent fools like you just need to shut your mouths and follow where I steer this country…What're you looking at?"_

_Jun nearly jumped when the drunk man finally noticed her. "Ahhh…!"_

" _Get outta my face!" The drunk man turned to face Jun and took a few steps towards her in an attempt to scare her off. "This ain't a show. Get lost, kid."_

_Jun managed not to flinch, though she couldn't stop herself from shaking. She looked ahead at the woman standing behind the man and wondered why she hadn't run. Was she too scared to move?_

_Or maybe…the woman had noticed how scared Jun actually was. It took her a moment to realize how wet her cheeks were—she was crying. She was actually_ _**crying** _ _and because of that, the woman was too busy worrying about her to run away._

" _ **Dammit…!"**_ _Jun rubbed furiously at her eyes. She needed to stop crying, but the tears just kept coming._

" _See? This is all because you're so damn slow!" The drunk man looked over his shoulder at the woman. "Get in the car, or else I'll take HER instead!"_

* * *

…

…

Jun scowls at the memory she has of the incident. She hates how scared she was, if only because of how that drunk man tried to use her to get that woman into his car. It seriously pisses her off…

_PI PI PI PI PI PI PI!_

"Hmm?" Jun blinks and reaches into her pocket to pull out her smartphone. It's fully charged by now, since she had it charging while she was cleaning. She checks to see what it is, wondering if it might be a message from home.

It's not—it's just a notification for an app that she  _knows_  she deleted.

" _It's that weird app from earlier."_  Jun makes a face at the red and black icon.  _"It's so creepy…"_

She doesn't waste any time in deleting it. She shoves her phone back into her pocket and then lowers her head so that it rests on top of her pillow. She yawns loudly and then closes her eyes, feeling far too exhausted to stay awake any longer. Within seconds, she's fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here we! So like, waaaay back in summer of last year, just months before the game came out in Japan, **UnstableFable** and I were talking about what to name our protag. It was a long process that took like a few hours before we finally agreed on the name Kimura Jun, which is the name I decided to give this fem!Joker. I know that Joker has a canon name, Kurusu Akira, but this was before the manga came out, so Kimura Jun’s grown on me a lot…
> 
> But don’t expect me to ignore the name Kurusu Akira altogether, so keep an eye out for it. So another thing that was decided during the naming process is that Jun is half-Korean on her mother’s side, which is why she calls her mother, Eomma (Eomma is an affectionate Korean term for mom). And the third, final thing that was decided during the naming process…I won’t exactly go into too much detail just yet, but basically, Jun is a lot like Yu from _Façade_ —in that they both have a different background from their canon counterparts that will have an effect on the way they act. For Jun, you can already tell that she’s closer to her family (unlike poor Yu, who is starved for attention).
> 
> Also, she’s pretty freaking short, being like 146.5 cm, which is 4’8”…reason for it was because I decided, waaay before we got any confirmed heights for the cast, to make fem!Joker the shortest. And as a result of that, she ended up being as short as she is, thanks to a certain orange-haired girl who made a cameo of sorts in this chapter (said girl who is 4’11”).
> 
> Why did I decided to do this? For the sake of comedy…and ooohhh, how I do not regret _ever_ making that decision! It certainly made for an interesting playthrough… By the by, I’m going with the personality I developed for Jun during my first playthrough of Persona 5, which has carried over to the Fanfiction Run.
> 
> You’ll see what I mean when Jun gets the chance to actually start doing more things on her own. She’s already shaping up to be quite different from Yu, though, which honestly amuses me because it wasn’t exactly intentional—it just happened.
> 
> Anyways, many thanks goes to **ShirakiNagi** and **awkward-screeching** for helping me out with getting this chapter going with their contributions in directionally challenged Jun. Though, as a heads-up, that’s was already gonna be a thing based off the fact that I got lost for like five minutes trying to look for the Ginza Line while I was streaming. If anything, you have these two for making it a thing that happens _earlier_. Though you have **ShirakiNagi** to thank for what became the “Sir, did you lose a child?” scene.
> 
> I like to also give a shout out to **kurobook** , for the fact that she’s an awesome friend for helping me with this fic, and also **memoriesofpurelight** (aka, **sealingdesigneejosephine** ), for screaming with me over Persona 5.
> 
> So it’s like 4 am and I really need to go to sleep, so this is all I really have to say for now. Feel free to leave a comment (I CRAVE validation), I’m gonna get some sleep… Until next time, everyone!


	2. Inmate

When Jun opens her eyes, she knows immediately that something is  _wrong_. She sees velvet blue walls and a few chains dangling from the ceiling, swinging left to right to left. She can hear the faint rattling sound it makes, as well as the sound of dripping water. Slowly, she sits up and notices the cuffs around her wrists that are linked together by a chain.

" _Chains?"_  She stares at her restraints, taking note of how cold and heavy they feel.  _"Wha—my clothes…!"_

She chokes back a scream when she notices her clothes have been changed. Someone had changed her into a black-and-white-striped prisoner uniform while she was sleeping!

" _I gotta…gotta stay calm…"_ Jun holds her head in her hands. She's seconds away from having a major freak out and noticing the ball that's chained to her left ankle certainly isn't helping her at all with preventing that.  _"Gotta stay…calm…"_

The sound of laughter reaches her ears, momentarily distracting her from her thoughts. She turns her head and finds that she's trapped behind a set of bars. It's not a sight she particularly likes, though her attention quickly shifts over to the two girls who are standing on the other side of the bars.

They're twin girls with unnaturally muted hair, pale skin, and golden eyes. They're dressed in blue, wearing an outfit that resembles a prison guard uniform and a black eyepatch with the letter "V" over one of their eyes. One has her hair up in two buns while the other has her hair pleated neatly into a braid. The two of them stare at Jun and watch her as she stands up.

Jun takes a step towards them, stopping only because of the weight chained to her ankle. She had almost forgotten about it… She shakes her head and keeps walking forward. She stops only once she's close enough to grip the bars that are keeping her trapped. That's when she notices that there's another person nearby—an old man with an unusually long nose, huge eyes, and an eerie smile.

The old man sits behind a desk and greets Jun with a gloved hand. "Trickster…Welcome to my Velvet Room."

Jun is a little more than freaked out at this point and, understandably, starts shaking the bars in hopes of making an escape. It is to her dismay that she finds the bars will not budge, no matter how much force she applies to them.

"So you've come to, Inmate," the girl with her hair up in buns speaks. Her expression is stern and her tone is harsh.

"The you in reality is current fast asleep." The other girl with her hair in a braid is the exact opposite of her twin. Her expression is devoid of any emotion and her tone is calm and almost monotone. "You are only experiencing this as a dream."

"You're in the presence of our master—stand up straight!" the first twin—the harsher and aggressive of the girls—barks out an order at Jun.

Jun hesitates for a moment, but does as she's told in the end. Though she's not the type to take orders from just anyone, she also knows better than to test her luck against a girl—as small as she may be—with a baton.

"Welcome," the old man speaks in a deep and gruff voice. "I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter."

" _A contract?"_  Jun purses her lips, her grip tightening on the bars. Her anxiety is starting to spike up, causing quite the  _inconvenience_  for her with its timing.  _"Stay…calm…deep breaths…"_

"I am Igor, the master of this place," the old man introduces himself. "Remember it well. I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well."

" _My life?"_  A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Jun's face. "Wh-What important matters?"

Igor doesn't give her an answer and instead, choosing to gaze at his surroundings. "Still, this is a surprise… The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such."

" _So even in my own heart?"_  Jun almost wants to laugh…it's just  _sooo_   _ **funny**_. She might just cry…

"You truly  _are_  a 'prisoner' of fate…" Igor's gaze falls back on Jun. "In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."

"Ruin?" Her stomach churns uncomfortably.

"I speak of the end to everything," Igor explains. "However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be 'rehabilitated.' Rehabilitated toward freedom…That is your only means to avoid ruin…Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"

"…Wait, what?" It's a lot for Jun to take in on such a short notice. She frowns when Igor starts chuckling.  _"What's so funny?"_

"You didn't decline, hm?" Igor's grin only seems to widen. "Very well, that is enough. Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation."

It is at that moment that the twins turn to face Jun. They're not much shorter than her, which makes it easy for them to make direct eye contact with her.

"Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others." Igor rests his chin on the back of his hand. "To your right is Caroline."

The girl with buns in her hair nods only once in affirmation.

"To your left, is Justine." Igor gestures at the quiet girl with her hair in a braid. "They serve as wardens here."

"Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like," Caroline is the first of the twins to speak.

"The duty of wardens is to protect inmates," Justine speaks next—almost as though she is continuing for Caroline. "We are also your collaborators…That is, if you remain obedient."

" _Obedient…right…"_  Jun can only nod her head.

"I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion." The twins turn their back to Jun and face Igor. "Now then, it seems the night is waning… It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually…"

An alarm rings loudly, startling Jun with its abruptness. She looks around for the alarm, taking a few steps back away from the bars.

"Time's up," Caroline states. "Now hurry and go back to sleep."

Jun scowls at Caroline and leaps towards the bars at her. Caroline doesn't so much as blink, only smirks—as though she finds Jun's attempts to scare her amusing instead of annoying. Jun has no idea what to think of that—not that she has much time to think. Slowly, her consciousness starts to fade.

The last thing she hears is Justine's voice, calmly saying, "Goodnight, Inmate."

* * *

…

…

Jun sits up so suddenly when she wakes up. Her eyes are wide and her breaths are short and erratic. She frantically looks around the room, slowly calming when she sees a messy attic instead of a jail cell. She allows herself to fall back onto her pillow, taking a moment to wipe the sweat off her brow.

" _What…was that?"_  Such a strange dream she had…  _"Ah, it's morning already."_

Jun unplugs her phone from its charger to check the time and frowns when she sees it. It's early in the morning, but not enough for her to get another hour of sleep. She looks up at the ceiling and sighs loudly.

" _Might as well get up…"_  She's not sure if she'll have enough time to eat breakfast before Sōjirō shows.  _"It's a good thing I bought those snacks…"_

Melon pan has never been her ideal breakfast, but it does its job in giving her something to fill her stomach. Although, there's something rather awkward about the way Sōjirō just stares at her when he comes up to check up on her.

"Well you're a sight for sore eyes," he says, smirking at the sight of Jun with her long, messy hair, bleary eyes, and crumby mess on her shirt from the melon pan (of which she's still eating). She looks like an absolute mess (a lot like a certain orange-haired girl he knows…).  _"How did I get stuck taking care of little girls?"_

"Nice trilby," Jun retorts. Not the best comeback she's ever made, but it's honestly all she can say when she sees the white trilby Sōjirō sports on his head with his outfit.

"It's nice to see we agree on something," Sōjirō takes her comment in stride (much to Jun's complete annoyance). "Anyways, we leave in half an hour. Get changed by then—try to brush your hair."

Jun stares blankly at Sōjirō and waits until he's turned his back on her to stick her tongue out at him. She takes another bite out of her melon pan afterwards and then reaches out for her glasses.  _"Can't forget these…"_

…

…

When Jun leaves her room, she is wearing her school uniform as neatly as possible. She's managed to listen to Sōjirō in regards to that, though she has completely ignored his request to brush her hair. When he makes mention of this, she sticks her tongue out at him in a manner that reminds him of a cat.

"Troublesome girl," he mutters under his breath. He tries to ignore the wave of relief he feels from knowing that she hasn't completely admitted defeat, despite yesterday's conversation with her. "Do what you want—let's get going. The school you're attending is in the Aoyama district."

"Aoyama…" Jun repeats.

Sōjirō smirks. "You're probably gonna want to write that down—better hope your phone is fully charged this time."

Jun refuses to make a comment out of spite.

"It'll cost you a bit to ride the train there, and the route transfers are a pain." Sōjirō wonders how Jun will fare, considering how lost she got while looking for his café. He shakes it off, deciding that it's none of his concern. "I'll drive you there, but just for today. Let's go."

"Thank you," Jun simply says. She knows when to express her gratitude, even though Sōjirō all but ignores it.

…

…

"You strike me as someone who's fit to ride in the backseat." Sōjirō chuckles when he sees Jun's reflection in his rear-view mirror. She stares blankly at him for a few seconds before unbuckling her seatbelt and clambering into the passenger seat. "Hey—watch it!"

_Click!_

"Tch, such manners…" Sōjirō clicks his tongue at Jun. She stares at him with such a defiant expression on her face. "Close your legs, you're wearing a skirt."

Jun does the exact opposite of what she's told and crosses her arms over her chest when Sōjirō gives her a disapproving look. It takes her a few seconds to eventually cower under his gaze, to which she closes her legs and mutters a nervous, "S-Sorry…"

Her face is bright red from embarrassment, her expression now devoid of its defiant appearance.

"Heh, so there  _is_  a limit to your troublemaking." Sōjirō almost laughs, but decides not to. "Consider yourself lucky I'm going easy on you, but just remember—not everyone has the patience for your antics."

"Understood…" Jun exhales shakily. She knows better than to act this way around adults who  _aren't_  her uncles. But it just really drives in the reality that this truly is her first time without them by her side.  _"I need to behave…"_

The drive to the Aoyama district is long and uneventful. It's also rather quiet, due to how Jun and Sōjirō avoid talking to each other. Eventually, the car ride comes to an end when Sōjirō parks the car and motions at Jun to follow him. It is from there that he takes her to the gates of Shujin High.

Shujin High, at first glance, is an unremarkable sight to behold, with its dreary gray coloration that almost blends in with the other buildings near its surroundings. It'd be easy to miss, were it not for the plaque to the left of the gates that reads,  _Shujin High School_.

Sōjirō stops Jun when they're about to enter through the school gates. "Do me a favor and behave yourself, all right?"

Jun says nothing—she only stares at Sōjirō. It's a bit unnerving, since she doesn't blink, so he averts his eyes and sighs.

"Don't get me wrong—I don't care what happens to you." Sōjirō scratches at the back of his head. "Just don't cause me any trouble."

For a brief moment, there's a look of betrayal on Jun's face. It goes relatively unnoticed due to how quickly Sōjirō turns his back on her and how fast her expressions changes. It's easy for her to put up a façade on such a short notice, though there's not really much she can do about the pain that lingers within her chest.

…

…

Jun watches quietly with observant eyes as Sōjirō fills out the papers he's been handed to by the bald, overweight man dressed in a yellow suit who sits at the desk that's in front of them. Her eyes quickly glance at the woman that stands right next to him. She has dark brown eyes and short, unkempt hair of the same color. She wears a long-sleeved yellow shirt with red and white horizontal lines and a denim skirt that goes down to her knees. There's a look on her face that suggests she'd rather be anywhere, but here.

"To reiterate, just so we're clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems." Jun's attention is back on the man in the yellow suit. "Honestly, I hesitated on accepting someone like you, but there were some circumstances on our side…"

Jun resists the urge she has to play with her hair. She doesn't want to make a bad impression on her principal—especially not with the way he's been watching her every movement.

"You might have done a variety of things in hiding in your hometown, but you will behave yourself here." His expression is stern, as is his tone. "If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind."

Jun nods her head only once to show that she's been listening. There's not really much she has to say, though…

"This is the teacher in charge of your class," the principal gestures to the woman at his side.

"I'm Kawakami Sadayo," the woman introduces herself before holding out a small card to Jun. "Here's your student ID."

"Thank you," Jun says when she accepts her student ID. She almost smiles at Kawakami, but stops when she notices how still and stiff she is. Try as she may, Kawakami cannot hide her reluctance completely from sight.

"Be sure to read the school rules," Kawakami says. "Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And, if by chance you cause any problems, I won't be able to protect you at all…That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?"

Principal Kobayakawa nods his head. "Kimura-kun is responsible for all her actions."

" _N-Not now…"_  Jun bites her lip when nausea starts bubbling in the pit of her stomach. Something feels wrong…so very,  _very_  wrong. Why—she doesn't know, but then Kawakami opens her mouth to speak.

"But really though, why me…?" Kawakami furrows her brows. "There should've been better candidates."

"It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening." Kobayakawa wastes no time in justifying his reasons. "Besides, don't you think a female teacher is best suited for this?"

Jun was expecting people to talk about her like this. She expected it—she just…didn't expect to hear it right in front of her face. She can deal with people talking behind her back or in private, but this…  _"This feels bad…"_

And she knows—she just  _knows_ —this won't be the last time this happens.

"If you're done explaining things, mind if we get going?" Sōjirō doesn't want to stay any longer than he has to. "I got a store to get back to."

Kobayakawa turns to Sōjirō. "Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on her. Don't let her cause any trouble outside…"

"Well, I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation she's in." Although, Sōjirō has a feeling that the reality of it is  _finally_  starting to set in for her…

Kawakami sighs wearily. "Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I'll show you to your classroom."

With that said, Sōjirō and Jun take their leave.

…

…

"They're treating you like some kinda nuisance…" As usual, Sōjirō doesn't pull any of his punches. Not even the fact that they're still inside of Shujin High keeps him from voicing his complaints. "I guess that's what it means to have a criminal record. Turns out your past follows you wherever you go."

When Sōjirō looks over his shoulder at Jun, he notices her absentmindedly scratching at a spot on her right thigh. She avoids meeting his gaze, appearing far too distracted with her own thoughts to say anything.

"By the way…if you get expelled now, I won't hesitate to kick you out." It takes a few seconds for Jun to realize that he's talking to her. Her head snaps up, her eyes focused right on him. "Did you get that?"

Jun pauses for a moment to play with a lock of her hair. Then she says, "I'll be careful."

"Hmph…" Sōjirō turns away from Jun and sighs. "School never changes, huh? Come on, we're going home."

…

…

* * *

Kawakami Sadayo can't help but let her thoughts drift over to messy-haired girl that she met earlier in Principal Kobayakawa's office. It's all that she can think about as she leaves the practice building and makes her way across the courtyard to the classroom building. Because really, when she heard that the transfer student with a criminal record had dabbled in compensated dating, Kawakami was expecting a large-chested girl wearing make-up and a much shorter skirt.

Instead, she got sixteen-year-old girl with the appearance of a grade-schooler.

"Looks can be deceiving," Kawakami tries to tell herself.  _"You've seen it happen multiple times with girls her age…"_

And yet, she still has her doubts…

"What a troublesome situation." Kawakami stops at the halfway point to the classroom building and gymnasium. Standing in her way is a male teacher dressed partially in a black jersey, wearing only the pants to it with a white t-shirt. He is far taller and muscular than she is, with wavy black hair and a broad, square jawline.

"I can't believe they pushed someone with a record on me." Kawakami frowns when she realizes Principal Kobayakawa had made a point when he said a female teacher was best suited for this.  _"I just wish I wasn't_ _ **that**_ _female teacher…"_

"Why in the world was someone like that admitted here?" The male teacher shares her grievances.

"Who knows?" Kawakami sighs. "It was the principal's decision. I was told it's for the school's reputation."

"I would've thought that my volleyball team has contributed more than enough to cover that." The male teacher flashes Kawakami a grin.

"That's certainly true…" Kawakami can't argue with him on that. "I just…wasn't expecting someone like her."

The male teacher arches his brow as he stretches one of his arms. "Is everything okay?"

"No—I mean,  _yes_ …I'm just confused." Kawakami pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Just be careful, yeah?" The male teacher smiles reassuringly at her. "If anything were to happen, I'd kick out a student like that right away."

Kawakami could only wonder if he'd think the same way after meeting with Kimura Jun. She runs her hand through her hair and shakes her head. "Honestly, I just…keep wishing that she'd just end up not coming to school. Still—that isn't something I should be saying as a teacher…"

"Well, I should be returning to practice," the male teacher says.

Kawakami tilts her head to the side. "What are you—oh right! The tournament's coming up, isn't it?"

"Hehe, having such high expectations placed on you by others is quite a problem in itself." Despite what he says, the male teacher is smiling widely in pride. "We'll have to work hard to make up for the track team too."

"Yes, that's true…" Kawakami feels a lot more exhausted than before at the mere mention of the track team.

"Oh…and before I forget." The male teacher places his hands on his waist. "I can certainly lend a hand in keeping that troublesome transfer student in place with the strict training of the volleyball club."

"I'll…keep that in mind." Kawakami decides not to think too much about it. She watches the male teacher go on his way towards the gymnasium and sighs for what feels like the umpteenth time today. "Why'd it have to be my class…?"

* * *

…

…

The sudden development of a traffic jam lengthens the duration of the drive back to Leblanc. Jun finds herself feeling uneasy around Sōjirō as his anger starts to spike up from the inconvenience before him.

"Traffic's not moving at all…" Sōjirō raises his voice slightly in annoyance, to which Jun reacts by unbuckling her seatbelt and climbing into the backseat. "You're taking the train starting tomorrow."

Jun waits until she's done buckling herself in to respond. "I understand."

"…So how was it? The school, I mean. Think you can manage?" Sōjirō turns to look at Jun, only to realize she's no longer sitting in his passenger seat. He stares blankly at the empty seat and then looks towards the back, to where he sees Jun waving at him. "I see you still have it in you to mess around."

"It seems fun—the school I mean." Jun shifts the focus back on the question Sōjirō had asked her.

Sōjirō is baffled by Jun's response. "Do you even understand your situation…?"

He receives no response from her and instead, finds that Jun is playing with her hair again. It's a tic she has that he's only just noticed. Why she does it, he does not know, but it always feels as though she's making light of the situation. He figures that this is all he'll get as a response from her, so he decides to move on.

"Still," he sighs, "you were expelled once already. To think you'd re-enroll at a different one. It's not like anyone will be sympathetic with you—even with your looks."

Jun narrows her eyes at Sōjirō, but still remains silent.

"If that's what it was like at school, people might say stuff about me in the future too…" It's a concern he has, especially since Jun isn't his only ward. "What a troublesome kid I've taken in…"

"Why did you take me in?" Jun finally brings herself to ask.

"I was asked to do it, and I just…happened to agree to it." Sōjirō ignores the memory he has of a blond-haired man with scars on his face begging him for help. "I've already been paid for it too, after all."

"Ah, so that's why…" Jun laughs halfheartedly. "There's no turning back now, huh?"

Sōjirō's not sure if he wants to know what Jun means by that. He reaches out to turn the radio, just in time listen in on a news report.

" _ **Again, a subway has derailed at Shibuya Station, greatly affecting the timetable all across the—"**_

"Another accident?!" Sōjirō stares at the radio in disbelief. "So that's why it's so crowded. There's been a lot of those lately."

Jun stretches her arms out and yawns loudly. "I'm sleepy…I'm gonna nap."

Sōjirō clicks his tongue. "Tch, nice to see at least one of us can make the most of this situation."

…

…

It's late in the evening when Sōjirō and Jun finally arrive at Leblanc. There was a slight detour to the grocery store after making it back to Yongen-Jaya, but only because Sōjirō was growing annoyed with how loud Jun's stomach was growling. He can only wonder why she didn't say anything as she worked her way through one of the ready-made meals she picked out at the store.

"You sure aren't picky…" Sōjirō was expecting Jun's sheltered upbringing to pop up in the form of her eating habits, though from the looks of it, she seems fine with what she has.  _"Then again, all she's had for breakfast is melon pan…"_

"Thanks for the meal," Jun says almost an afterthought through a mouth full of rice.

"Don't talk with your mouth full…" Sōjirō sighs. "To think there'd be that much traffic… What a waste of time."

"You can have my umeboshi." Jun uses her chopsticks to holds out a sour pickled plum for Sōjirō to take.

"Just keep it." Sōjirō wasn't a fan of that grocery store's umeboshi to begin with… "I wasn't able to open the café today…"

"I'm sorry…" Jun frowns. "I was saving it for last, but you can have my salmon if it'll make you feel any better…"

Sōjirō stares at Jun for a moment, taking note of the regret she has in her eyes. He scratches the back of his head and sighs. "Whatever…you can keep that, too. Just head upstairs. There's something I need to give to you—try not to make a mess."

"No promises," is all Jun says before she disappears up the stairs.

Sōjirō stares at the pieces of white rice that had managed to fall on the floor from where Jun was standing. He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Ojou, huh?"

She sure doesn't act like it…

…

…

Jun is halfway through her second meal when Sōjirō enters the room. His eyes are glued to the screen of his cellphone, paying Jun no particular attention—not even when she pops open a can of soda.

"Talk about a gruesome accident…" Sōjirō was checking his phone for news regarding the accident he and Jun heard on the radio. "Eighty people were involved."

"Damn," Jun says out loud, catching Sōjirō by surprise with her swearing. "So what is it that you wanted to give me?"

Sōjirō blinks twice and then nods his head. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small, black book. "It's a diary. Make sure you write in it."

"Ha?" Jun tilts her head to the side.

Sōjirō throws the book down onto the table. It lands right next to Jun's black schoolbag. "You may be under probation, but there's no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, that is. However, I'm obligated to report on you, which is why I'm having you record your daily activities."

_PI PI PI PI PI PI PI!_

Sōjirō quickly picks up the call he receives on the cellphone. A warm smile makes its way to his face when he answers. "Hey, what's up? I'm about to leave right now. Don't worry. I'll be there in no time…Uh-huh. I'll see you soon."

" _It's like he's an entirely different person…"_  Jun takes a drink from her soda.

"Well, I'm off," Sōjirō says, shortly after hanging up. "I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh, but don't mess up my store. If something goes missing, I'll hand you right over to the cops."

"I understand." Jun knows better than to take what doesn't belong to her.

"You got school tomorrow…" Sōjirō reminds her. "You better head off to bed, all right?"

He doesn't wait for Jun to respond and just heads downstairs. A full minute passes before Jun gets up from the sofa and walks over to the black book by her school bag. She picks it up to get a closer look at it.

"Write in it, huh?" Jun guesses she'll do as she's told in regards to this. "Maybe before bed…"

She still hasn't finished eating yet. Though, on her way over to the sofa, she hears a sound coming from downstairs.

"A phone?" It's probably the yellow pay phone that's downstairs.  _"Though who can be calling from there?"_

Jun sure as hell doesn't know, but she might as well check it out.

" _It better not be a prank call…"_

…

…

" _ **Yo, it's me."**_

"Who is this?" Jun asks the person on the other line.

" _ **Sheesh, you forget my voice already? It's Sakura."**_  Ah, so it's Sōjirō…  _ **"Uhhh… I closed up shop, but I forgot to flip the sign to CLOSED. It's too much of a hassle for me to go back, so you flip the sign for me."**_

"You called a public phone?" Jun wonders why Sōjirō didn't call her cellphone instead.

" _ **I'm very selective on whose number I save in my cellphone,"**_  Sōjirō explains.  _ **"And to be quite honest, I don't trust you with my number."**_

"…Fair enough." Jun isn't going to argue with him.

" _ **Anyway, I'm glad you answered the phone over in the shop. Okay then. I'm leaving you in charge of the door sign."**_ Sōjirō hangs up after that.

"Well…I guess I better do as I'm told…" It's a lot creepier going outside late at night when no one is around. It was easier for Jun to ignore it when she just went straight to bed, but right now, as she flips the sign from OPEN to CLOSED, she's on alert for anything that's out of place. She checks the door more than twice to ensure it's locked before going back upstairs to finish her dinner.

It's a lot lonelier, now that Sōjirō is gone. It finally sets in as she finishes off the last of her dinner. She ignores the urge she has to message home—she has school tomorrow, so she needs to sleep early tonight. She makes one last trip downstairs to dispose of her trash and brush her teeth. She heads back up afterwards to change into her sleeping attire and head to bed.

She's just about ready to call it a night when she recalls the diary Sōjirō had given her.

"That's right…" Jun has to write something in it…  _"I should have a pencil in my schoolbag…"_

…

Jun sits back down on the sofa and flips open the diary to write something in it. She pauses momentarily to think how she wants to start the entry before quickly jotting something down. When she is finished, she sets the diary on the table next to the sofa, just to the right of the framed photograph she has of her uncles that she had set down earlier this morning. She smiles at the sight of the three men in the picture.

The photograph was a parting gift given to her before the train ride to Shibuya. Thinking of it now, this is all she has left of home for the next year. It's strange…

"I'm going to bed!" Jun says out loud to no one in particular. She turns her back to the photograph and makes her way over to her bed.

…

…

" _I need to take the train to school…"_  Jun thinks to herself as she stares up at the ceiling. She pulls out her phone to look up the directions she needs.  _"Yongen-Jaya… Aoyama-Itchome…Transfer…"_

According to her phone, Jun needs to go out to Shibuya and then transfer there to Aoyama-Itchome. Seems simple enough…

…

" _I'll set my alarm so I can leave early…"_ Just in case.  _"More news about that subway accident… Sounds like a lot of people were hurt…I bet this'll affect the timetables for tomorrow too…"_

Just her luck…speaking of which—

" _It's that app again."_  Jun scowls at the red and black icon that appears amongst her other apps.  _"It keeps showing up…time to delete it again."_

Third time's the charm, after all.

" _I should probably reboot my phone, just in case…"_  Jun hopes that'll do the job, once and for all. She waits until her phone has finished rebooting to set up her alarms before shoving it into her pocket. Afterwards, she stares up at the ceiling again and sighs.  _"It's so quiet…"_

There's no one else in the café but her. It's strange how it's taken her until now to notice, but…

" _I really am alone…"_  She has been from the moment she boarded the train to Shibuya. She might have had Sōjirō at her side today, but starting tomorrow, she was back to being on her own again.  _"No one but myself…"_

She recalls the way the principal and her homeroom teacher had treated her. And the way Sōjirō reacted to that.

" _All alone…"_  Tears began to well up in her eyes, blurring her vision.  _"For the next year…"_

She's crying, she notices after almost a minute. Just like that night that got her into this mess, where she's just so alone.

" _I wanna go home…"_

…

…

* * *

_Sunday, April 10_ _th_ _, 20XX_

_So Sakura-san says I need to record my daily activities. But honestly, I don't feel like it. Nothing happened today. I got stuck in a car with his grumpy ass after dealing with that principal and my homeroom teacher who would rather be anywhere but around me._

…

…

_Huh, that was easier than I thought it would be. I guess this diary has its uses, then. Well, since this is the first page, I guess I'll start off with an introduction._

_My name is Kimura Jun and I'm going to be a second-year student at Shujin High School tomorrow. My birthday is on the 15th of June and I'll be turning seventeen this year. I like baseball, seafood, and drawing (when I'm in the mood, of course)._

_I hate waking up early and getting lost, which'll happen often, I guess, since I'm not so good with directions here. I'm not particularly lucky (if that wasn't obvious enough), but I try not to let that get to me._

_For the next year, I'll be far away from home on probation. So long as I stay out of trouble and follow the rules, I should be completely fine._

_I should be…okay._

…

…

…

_Right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I got this next chapter up within a week. That’s a new fucking record!! Anyways, since it’s not 4 AM like last time (it is almost 1 AM though), I think now is a good time as any to make some clarifications.
> 
> This writing style I have now??? This is gonna stay, it’s been like that since I started writing my Hunter x Hunter SI OC fic (it just carried over from there on). It might be a bit awkward, but honestly, it’s what comes naturally to me now. Should also mention that there is no flashback like there is in the game, it’s happening in real-time…yeah.
> 
> Anyways, more about Jun. She has three uncles who aren’t exactly her uncles (not by blood, at the least) that she’s very close to and loves. She’s also a fucking mess because she’s a lot like a cat who doesn’t groom itself (much like one of **kurobook** ’s cats as well as one of **UnstableFable** ’s). And the reason I say cat specifically is because the Persona 5 Protagonist was based off a cat, whereas the Persona 4 Protagonist was based off a dog. It makes a lot of sense when you recall how often Façade!Yu bit and attacked people when cornered—though that was completely unintentional because I didn’t know about the dog thing until now. Now the thing about Jun liking seafood—that was intentional to contrast with Façade!Yu’s affinity for meat.
> 
> Moving on, Jun has her moments of defiance, though only around Sōjirō and it’s to a limit. It’s because she’s getting a bit too comfortable around him, if only because of his connection to one of her uncles, Shiba. She knows better than to push her luck though, so she stops as soon as she notices Sōjirō is giving off warning signs (signs that he’s tired of her shit).
> 
> It’ll be a loooong journey before Sōjirō warms up to Jun, but until then…yeah. Also, feel free to scream in regards to the comment a certain shithead volleyball teacher made in regards to Jun and the volleyball club… Though, let me just tell you that I actually just took that off the manga, because holy FUCK, there was plans for Akira getting shoved into the volleyball club.
> 
> Kawakami’s got her doubts about Jun, because things don’t seem to match up with her appearance. Though, of course, looks can certainly be deceiving, though she still has her doubts. As an FYI, “looks can be deceiving” pretty much fits Jun to a T.  
>    
> So like, I wasn’t expecting to do a journal entry thing like I did in Façade, but lmao, aaaay, guess what ended up being a thing anyways in _Persona 5_? I swear to god, it’s like _Façade_ managed to predict things, from Yu’s birthday being the eventual worldwide release date of _Persona 5_ to the journal entries being a thing because Sōjirō gives you a diary to fill out. But that’s enough of that, just get used to the diary entries.
> 
> By the by, you have **kurobook** to thank for Jun’s birthday being in June (it’s a pun) as well as a drawing of the photo of Jun’s uncles ([which you can find here](http://klonoadreams.tumblr.com/post/161460031619/art-by-kurobookish-got-permission-from-them-to)). Anyways, the date itself refers to a traditional Korean festival by the name of Yudu where you wash your hair and body in a river for good luck (which I feels is appropriate for Jun). Though, as a result, this makes her the oldest of the second-years, which contrast to Yu (who is the youngest, being only older than Rise by like two months). She is also a Gemini, which is funny because aaaay, Caroline and Justine are _twins_. (Of course, she isn’t the only Gemini, because a certain pancake-loving pretty boy is one too and his birthday was June 2 nd…which he shares with friend **UnstableFable** , so happy birthday, Bloo!!)
> 
> Just as a heads up, I do feel that this game takes place in 2016, but for the sake of the diary entries, it’ll be written as 20XX because Jun’s a cheeky little brat. Anyways, thank you guys so much for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it! No seriously, I love it when you guys comment (CRAVE THAT VALIDATION). So feel free to say something if you anything on your mind!!
> 
> That's about it for now, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible! Until next time, everyone!


	3. Arsène Lupin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I feel that it's only appropriate...
> 
> **Warnings for: KAMOSHIDA (aka, Kamoshithead)**

Jun wakes up the next morning feeling like absolute shit. Her cellphone's alarm goes off just seconds afterwards, making her head throb with its loud noise. She mutters a few swears and reaches into her pocket for her cellphone so she could shut off its alarm.

" _I have school starting today…"_  She stares up at the ceiling with bleary eyes.  _"Hopefully I can get there without getting lost…"_

Her cellphone is fully charged—it  _better_  not die on her.

" _Gotta…get up…"_  Jun struggles to get out of bed, feel far too sluggish to do anything right now.  _"Can't be late—need to change…"_

It takes her a full six minutes to roll out of bed. She lands onto the floor and yawns loudly, not really caring much that she just fell.

"I hate waking up early…" Of course, there's not much she can do about it. It's just something she has to get used to—at least until she learns her way through Shibuya Station.

Jun gets up and stumbles over to her discarded tights on the floor. She picks them up to give them a quick look-over. After deciding that wearing the same tights two days in a row is a bit too much, she throws them into the laundry basket under the table that's by the sofa. She yawns again and then makes her way over to the cardboard box to pull out a pair of clean tights and a white camisole.

She changes into her school uniform afterwards, taking care to ensure her hair doesn't get trapped underneath her suspenders before buttoning up her blazer. It's as she is pulling on her tights that the smell of spices and coffee reaches her nose.

" _Is Sakura-san here?"_  Jun didn't think he'd be here so early… "Whatever…"

She zips on her ankle boots and then grabs her schoolbag before heading downstairs. There, she sees Sōjirō working behind the counter, likely getting ready for another day of work.

"Oh, so you actually  _are_  going to school?" Sōjirō isn't at all surprised when Jun sticks her tongue out at him. He laughs when he hears her stomach growl and sets down a plate of curry and rice on the counter. "Here, I'll feed you. Just make sure you finish it before the customers start coming in."

Jun tilts her head to the side. "Curry for breakfast…?"

"What's that reaction for?" It's the last thing Sōjirō wants to hear from a girl who ate nothing but melon pan for breakfast yesterday. "Just sit down and eat."

_Growl._

"Such a loud sound coming from a tiny girl…" Sōjirō can't help but laugh.

Jun feels her face heating up as she sits down to eat. She stares at the plate of curry, her mouth practically watering from the aroma that wafts from it. She doesn't waste any time in shoveling a spoonful of curry and rice into her mouth.

"Hope your tongue isn't too sensitive," Sōjirō says as he sets down a glass full of water for Jun. "Try not to make a mess."

He just cleaned that counter…

"It's good!" she suddenly exclaims, mouth still full of food. She can taste complex flavors within the bold spiciness—it's nothing like she's ever had before. She can't help but stuff another spoonful into her mouth.

"Hey—slow down!" Sōjirō scolds her. "There's no need to rush."

Despite Sōjirō's words, Jun continues eating at her current pace. As a result, it takes her less than five minutes to finish off the entire plate of curry. Sōjirō's jaw slackens in awe from the sight.

"Thanks for the meal!" Jun flashes Sōjirō a wide smile that shows off her catlike fangs. She seems a lot happier, especially in comparison to how she was yesterday… Though, she's  _still_  just as messy.

Sōjirō mutters under his breath and reaches out to brush off the grains of rice sticking to Jun's face. "Such a troublesome kid…there—now if only you brushed your hair."

As tempting as it is to stick out her tongue at him, Jun refrains from doing so and instead, starts downing the glass of water that was set down for her. A wave of contentment washes over her, leaving her rosy-cheeked and smiling.

"Hurry over to school," Sōjirō tells her before picking up her empty plate and glass. "You'll end up late if you get lost on the way."

" _That's right!"_  Jun had almost forgotten why she had woken up so early. She grabs her schoolbag off the counter and jumps out of her chair. "I'll be going now."

"Make sure to flip the sign outside to OPEN for me," Sōjirō quickly tells her before she's completely out the door.

"We're open already?" Jun can't help but ask as she reaches up to flip the sign.

"Already…?" Sōjirō repeats. "If anything, we're running late—which is what you'll be if you don't hurry up and go, Ojou."

"Stop calling me that!" It's the last thing Jun says before the door shuts behind her. She doesn't stick around too much afterwards, her mood having somewhat soured. She's not mad—just annoyed.  _"Only Shibi, Shibe, and Shiba can call me Ojou…"_

She sighs loudly and starts making her way to Yongen-Jaya Station. She at least recalls where  _that_  is, so she certainly doesn't need any help when that same police officer from Saturday asks her if she needs any when she passes by him.

"No thank you!" she quickly says before running off. She  _really_  doesn't want to deal with any police officers— _especially_  during today, her first day of school…  _"The last thing I need is for people to spread rumors."_

She's only lucky that she hasn't come across any other teenagers wearing the same uniform as hers.

…

…

It's when she gets on the train that she finally encounters other students from Shujin High School. They pay her no attention, being far too occupied in finding a spot as the train car quickly fills up with people. By the time the train shuts its doors, the car is crammed with so many people. Jun finds herself squashed against the door, surrounded by random people. There's a female Shujin High School student standing right behind her, but she's too busy going through her phone, so there goes any chances Jun has at striking up a conversation with someone.

" _Looks like the rumors about the Tokyo subway are true…"_  How unfortunate… _"Gotta get used to it, I guess…"_

At least she'll be able to follow the female student that stands behind her to Shujin High… So there's no need for her to worry about getting lost. That would've been the case, except getting off the train turns out to be far more hectic than she expected and she quickly loses sight of the female student. So Jun stands in the middle of the Underground Walkway, minutes later, just watching as people pass her. Beads of sweat begin to roll down the sides of her face as she pulls out her phone from her pocket.

" _Where the_ _ **fuck**_ _am I supposed to go?"_  Jun can feel her heart racing as she waits for her phone to finish loading. "C'mon—okay!"

According to her phone, she has to transfer to the Ginza Line…wherever the hell that is. Jun resists the urge to groan as she shoves her phone back into her pocket.

" _Stay calm—you can do this."_  She did it before…sort of. Well, she had help—but that's beside the point.  _"Okay, just keep going. You'll find it the Ginza Line eventually…"_

…

It takes Jun until she's passing by shops in the Underground Mall ten minutes later to realize that she's lost. She stares blankly at the flower shop before her, almost ignoring the shopkeeper—a kind young woman—who asks her if she needs anything.

" _Do I?"_  Jun furrows her brow. "…"

…

"How do I get to the Ginza Line?" she finally asks. She is  _done_  with going back and forth, just backtracking to avoid getting even  _more_  lost.

The young woman blinks a few times and then smiles. "Since they're cleaning the area right now, you have to take a different way to get to the Ginza Line. You want to head up the stairs into Station Square. Once you're there, keep going straight until you get to the other side. There, you'll see two sets of stairs—take the one going upstairs and that's where you can find the Ginza Line."

"Ah…" So it was that simple… "Th-Thank you…"

The young woman giggles. "Anytime—I like your tights, by the way. Very cute!"

" _Cute?"_  Jun tilts her head to the side.  _"I guess black tights are cute…wait—"_

Only now, does it occur to her—long after she's finished changing—that she just grabbed the first pair of tights she could find in that cardboard box. And she knows—she just  _knows_ —her luck isn't particularly good to begin with. So when she looks down and sees smiling cat faces decorating the tops of her faux thigh highs, she isn't  _that_  surprised to know that she grabbed the wrong pair of tights.

" _Dammit!"_  She is, however, annoyed, because these were the  _one_  pair of tights that she didn't want to wear with her school uniform. Hell, she was saving these tights for a different outfit!  _"I even had it set aside for the occasion…"_

It looks like she'll just have to deal with it…on her first day of school. Ohh,  _god_ , there goes her first impression on her classmates.

" _Whatever…"_  She twirls a lock of her hair and mutters a quiet, "Thank you."

"It's nothing—do you want a flower?" Jun barely has time to react when the shopkeeper reaches out and places a red camellia blossom in her hair. "There—I thought it would suit you!"

"Ahhh…" Jun honestly has no idea how to react. Though, she feels oddly giddy—likely because she's being treated so nicely by a stranger. It's reassuring…

Of course, it slowly dawns on Jun, as she walks up the stairs into Station Square, that she's been mistaken for a child (again). She resists the urge she has to smack herself on the forehead.

" _No wonder she was being so nice…"_  That certainly dimmed her mood… "Whatever."

It's her own fault for getting her hopes up so quickly. She should've just focused on getting to school…

"I should get going now…" She's wasted enough time already…  _"Just keep going straight and you'll find two sets of stairs…"_

…

…

* * *

"Oh man…did it say it was going to rain today?"

Sōjirō looks at the man sitting at the counter. "Huh? It's raining outside?"

"It just started all of a sudden…" The man considers himself fortunate to have entered the café moments earlier. "This is why I hate the early spring…"

"That reminds me…" Sōjirō's thoughts drift over to the other glasses-wearing girl in his care. "Did she take an umbrella…?"

"Hm? Who're you talking about?" The man looks questioningly at Sōjirō.

"Don't mind me," Sōjirō assures him. "Just thinking out loud…so what'll it be?"

"One house blend, please," the man replies.

Sōjirō nods his head and gets to work.

" _ **The effects of yesterday's subway accident continues on today as various lines suffer delays—"**_

"There's been a lot of nasty accidents lately," the man tries to strike up a conversation with Sōjirō as he waits for his coffee. "You know, I mean the subway accident that the news is talking about…My coworker got caught up in it and is in the hospital now…"

Sōjirō doesn't say much, being far too engrossed in his work. He rarely ever does talk with his customers much.

"But that aside, it's kinda creepy." The man grimaces. "The people who caused these accidents supposedly went crazy all of a sudden. I heard that some of them suffered from nervous breakdowns during interrogation."

"Huh…" is all Sōjirō can really say. He doesn't have much to contribute to the conversation, though he does wonder how Jun is doing right now.  _"She left early, so she should get there on time—even if she does get lost…"_

* * *

…

…

It takes some time, but Jun  _finally_  makes it to Aoyama-Itchome. She feels at ease with where she's at and the sight of teenagers wearing the Shujin High uniform in the area only reassures her that she's in the right place. She pulls out her phone to check the clock and is pleased to see that she still has time to spare before school starts.

" _That's a relief…"_  At least that's one thing that's going right for her.  _"I should keep going…"_

She has no reason to loiter around—not like the female students that she passes by. She feels a little envious of them, just seeing those girls talk to each other. There is familiarity between them, shown through their interactions and the carefree laughter they share with each other.

" _I really am alone…"_  It's a sobering thought, but Jun quickly shakes it off. She doesn't need this negativity so early in the morning…  _"Be positive!"_

Less than a minute later, a shrill scream rips from her throat the instant Jun finds herself being pelted by raindrops. It's cold, wet, and she doesn't have a fucking umbrella on her. Screw being positive—it's gonna be  _nothing_  but negativity from here on out!

"Motherfucker!" Jun can't keep herself from shrieking. A string of obscenities leaves her mouth as she makes her way over to a nearby awning of a building for shelter from the rain. She shakes her head vigorously, sending drops of water flying into the air. Miraculously enough, the flower in her hair manages to stay in place—it's something she notices when she catches a quick glimpse of her reflection on the screen of her phone.  _"Figures…"_

She opens up her GPS to check how much farther she is from Shujin High School. She wants an idea of how far she has to go without an umbrella. She chokes back a scream that wants to leave her mouth when she sees a very familiar icon pop up on her phone's screen.

" _Fucking again?!"_  Jun scowls when the icon enlarges itself on its own and obstructs her view of the map she was looking at.  _"Auuugh—it's a freaking virus!"_

Her temper is flaring up at the worst of times when she is far too frazzled to keep herself in check. She wants to scream—she  _really_  wants to scream. And she almost does, but Jun quickly stops herself when she sees that she's no longer alone.

Standing right next to her, is a girl far taller than she is. She wears a modified version of the Shujin High School uniform, with a white varsity-like hoodie underneath her blazer instead of a turtleneck shirt, bright red tights under a short skirt, and brown boots. She brushes the rain off of herself before pulling down her hood, revealing ash-blonde hair tied into two, fluffy pigtails.

" _Gyaru?"_  Jun tilts her head to the side, taking note of the girl's warm complexion and pierced ears. Her mouth parts slightly in awe when she catches sight of the girl's eyes—it's a clear blue, framed by long eyelashes. "Hāfu?!"

The word slips out of Jun's mouth before she can even stop herself. The girl blinks and turns her head. Initially, her expression is stern, but it quickly softens when she looks at Jun. Glossy pink lips form into a smile that makes Jun's heart skip a beat.

"You?" she asks, blue eyes focused completely on Jun.

"Korean!" Jun blurts out, earning a small laugh from the girl. "You?"

The girl smiles wryly. "American—though it's a quarter, not half."

"Ahh…wh-what's your name?" It's hard for Jun to stay calm—she's just so  _excited_. "I'm Kimura Jun!"

"Takamaki Ann—are you a first year?" Ann asks, blue eyes quickly looking over Jun. "I haven't seen you before…cute tights, by the way."

Jun resists the urge she has to tug down on her skirt. Instead, she focuses on trying to correct Ann—because she is  _not_  a first-year. She's about to point Ann towards the button on her blazer, but before she can do that, a car pulls up in front of them. The window rolls down, revealing a man with wavy black hair as the driver.

"Good morning!" he says with a smile on his face. "You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late."

It takes Jun a few seconds to realize that he's talking to Ann. She turns to Ann, who hesitates for a moment before saying, "Um, sure. Thank you…I guess I'll see you around, Kimura-san."

"I guess…" Jun was hoping she could talk to Ann a little longer. Though, it seems she'll have to wait until later… "Bye."

"Hey—do  _you_  need a lift?" the man suddenly asks Jun as Ann gets into the passenger seat. He almost didn't notice her standing there…

"N-No thank you!" Jun quickly answers, forcing a smile afterwards to avoid looking so nervous. She's been taught not to accept rides from random strangers and she sure isn't going to start now—even if it  _is_  raining.

"You sure?" He notices that she doesn't have an umbrella, but that does nothing in changing her answer. "Don't be late, okay?"

Jun only nods her head in response. She feels far too uncomfortable to say anything to that man, especially with how anxious Ann looks in the passenger seat. It's the last thing she sees before the window rolls up and the car drives off.

" _Is she going to be okay?"_  Jun hopes so…  _"Hmm?"_

It's not long after the car had left that a boy with blond hair, brown eyes, and tan skin runs past Jun. He slows to a stop, swearing loudly as he watches the car disappear into the distance.

"Dammit—screw that pervy teacher!" The boy hunches over, struggling to catch his breath.

"Pervy teacher?" Jun repeats—a little too loudly, from the way the boy turns to her.

He seems annoyed, but then he gets a good look at her and his expression softens somewhat. He wears the Shujin High uniform, though it's modified somewhat. His blazer is unbuttoned, revealing the yellow t-shirt he has underneath that's decorated with a star and reads "ZOMG!" on it. He wears pants with a similar pattern as Jun's skirt, with the ends rolled up above his ankles and suspenders hanging from his hips.

"Do you need something?" he asks. "You don't plan on rattin' me out to Kamoshida, yeah?"

"Kamoshida?" Jun tilts her head to the side.

"Huh?" The boy frowns. "In that car just now. It was Kamoshida."

"Ohhh…" So that's his name… "I see…"

"He does whatever the hell he wants." The boy scowls. "Who does he think he is—the king of a castle? Don't you agree?"

Jun furrows her brow. "Which castle?"

The boy runs his hand through his short, blond hair. "Uh, it's just a sayin'…Don't take it so literally, yeah?"

…

…

"Wait." The boy crosses his arms over his chest. "You don't know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You're from Shujin, right?"

He looks over Jun to make sure, taking note of her uniform. He nearly chokes on his spit when he sees the second-year button pinned to her blazer. She's just so  _small_ —he almost thought she was a first-year!

"You go to Shujin too?" Jun can't help but ask. She sees his uniform, but she wants to make sure.

"What…?" The boy shoves his hands into his pockets. "No other high school's got a uniform like this. A second-year, huh…"

Jun nods her head. "That's right."

"We're the same grade then." As baffling as it is to him. "Never seen you before though."

"Uhhh…" Jun nervously adjusts her glasses. "I'm not—today's my first day…"

"Oh, you a transfer student?" That would explain why he hasn't seen her before. He'd remember someone as short as her. It also explains why she seems so confused… "Then no wonder you don't know him."

"Y-Yeah…" Although, based on what the boy has said about him, Jun would prefer  _not_  to know Kamoshida.

"This rain ain't too bad," the boy says after walking a few steps forward. He looks over his shoulder at her and smiles, revealing two rows of sharp, triangular-shaped teeth that fit together perfectly like puzzle pieces. "We better hurry up, or we'll be late. Come with me—I'll take you to Shujin."

He acts like such a vulgar boy and looks like a delinquent, too, but Jun feels completely at ease around him—even more so after seeing his sharp teeth. It's a sight that's more calming than alarming to her.

" _Reminds me of Eomma."_  Jun smiles warmly at the thought of her mother. "Thank you."

"Heh, you're kinda cute with those tights and that flower in your hair." The boy can't help himself. A light blush dusts his cheeks red. "Sorry…didn't mean to hit on you."

"It's fine." Jun doesn't mind—especially since he's so nice about it. "I'm Kimura Jun—you?"

"Sakamoto Ryuuji," he says without missing a beat. "C'mon, let's get going—Ngh…?!"

Ryuuji had barely taken a step forward when his head started throbbing with a sudden headache. He raises a hand to his head and waits for the pain to subside. Jun does the same, having suffered from a sudden headache as well.

"Uuugh, my head hurts…" Ryuuji groans. "Dammit…I wanna go home…"

Jun feels similarly, especially with the rain splashing down on her and dampening her hair and clothes. It gets on her nerves, but she ignores it as she follows after Ryuuji. Going unnoticed, is her phone as it processes the terms it managed to pick up from her—Kamoshida, Shujin High, pervert, and castle. She shoves it into her pocket and follows Ryuuji through a narrow alleyway.

_Splash!_

"Hyeek!" An earsplitting shriek escapes from Jun's mouth.

Ryuuji flinches when he hears Jun's loud shriek. He turns to see what's up, only for a weight to suddenly latch itself onto his back. It's so sudden that it manages to disrupt his balance. He stumbles for a bit, but manages to avoid falling down. It's a close call, though, which is why he looks over his shoulder and scowls when he sees that it's Jun who's on his back. "What the  _fuck_ , dude?!"

She's not heavy by any means, but the least she could've done was give him a warning before  _jumping_ him. Her grip is tight and there is something rather awkward about having her legs wrapped around his waist.

"There's water on the ground—I'm not stepping on it!" she blurts out.

"Are you for real?!" Ryuuji can't believe the crap that he's hearing.

"I don't wanna get these tights wet!" She can deal with the rain, but puddles are out of the question. "Just keep going—I'll make it up to you!"

"I take it back—you're not so cute!" Ryuuji can only imagine the shit that people will say when they see him with Jun on his back.  _"Local troublemaker piggybacks a grade-schooler to school…"_

He knows she's not a grade-schooler, but that still doesn't change the fact that she  _looks_  like one and even acts like one, too. Thinking of it now, that flower in her hair—it's likely from the flower shop in the Underground Mall. He's dropped by enough times to know that the owner, Hanasaki, likes to give out free flowers to grade-schoolers. He's tempted to share this information with Jun, but stops himself when he recalls the time Hanasaki mistook him for a grade-schooler. It was back while he was in middle school, during a time where he was shorter than a good chunk of people in his year because he was  _long_  overdue for a growth spurt.

" _At least Ma liked the flower…"_  So it wasn't  _that_  bad…even if did take until his final year of middle school for that growth spurt to kick in.  _"Not important!"_

…

Shujin High is only a short walk away from the station. It's something that Jun would consider as a good thing, had her and Ryuuji not come across a  _castle_  instead of a school building.

"Oh, what the hell?!" Jun was just here yesterday—what the hell is a castle doing here?!

"This is—this is the way I usually take…" Ryuuji is just as confused as she is. "We didn't come the wrong way, I know it! This  _should_  be right—it even says Shujin High right there!"

Ryuuji points at the plaque on the wall to their left. He's not wrong…but the giant castle just raises too many questions. He sighs and shakes his head.

"Screw it—let's just go inside and ask." It's better than staying out in the rain and doing nothing. And while Jun isn't being too much of a bother, he would prefer it if she got off his back. It's  _really_ awkward having a girl so close to him like this… "Hey, can you not, like… _breathe_  into my ear?"

"Sorry…" Jun lowers her head and rests it on Ryuuji's shoulder. "Is this better?"

"…It's fine." Ryuuji says…like the liar he is, trying his best to ignore how hot his face feels and how fast his heart is beating.

…

…

Ryuuji tries not to sigh so loudly when Jun finally hops off his back. He adjusts his blazer and looks around, taking in the castle's interior. It's…far too extravagant than it's supposed to be—a lot like the European castles one would see in films.

"This is  _so_  weird…" Ryuuji scratches his head.

"Are you  _sure_  you didn't take a wrong turn?" Jun asks, flinching a moment later when Ryuuji raises his voice to respond.

"You saw it right there—it said Shujin High!" Ryuuji hates that he's so scared right now, especially with how loud he tends to get when he's freaking out. He's never been good with staying calm under pressure… "Hey—you okay?"

He only just noticed, but right now—Jun isn't looking so good, appearing far too tense for comfort. Did he…did he scare her just now?

"Shit—sorry Kimura!" He didn't mean for this to happen. "I'm not good when I'm…yeah."

"It's fine…it happens." Jun didn't think she could even talk so quietly… "It'll pass, just…give me a second."

Ryuuji frowns, guilt coiling unpleasantly in his stomach. He pulls out his phone to check his GPS and swears under his breath when he sees it's out of service.

"So much for that…" He shoves his phone back into his pocket. He pauses for a second when his ears pick up the sound of heavy footsteps. "Huh?"

"Uhh…" It seems Jun heard it as well—so he wasn't just hearing things. "It's getting closer…"

The two teenagers turn to face the source of the sound. They are treated to the sight of an imposing figure dressed in heavy metal armor, armed with both a massive shield and a longsword.

"Knight?" Jun tilts her head to the side.  _"I guess we_ _ **are**_ _in a castle."_

"Geez, you freaked me out…" Ryuuji sighs in relief. "Who're you? You a student?"

Jun considers Ryuuji's reaction somewhat…inappropriate. He's far too calm in approaching the armored knight, even reaching out to touch their shield.

"Man, your costume's impressive…" It looks way too real…and feels that way, too. "Is that armor real?"

No response.

"C'mon, don't just stand there!" Ryuuji crosses his arms over his chest. "Say somethin'."

"Watch out!" Jun suddenly shrieks. She barely allows Ryuuji any time to react when she rushes up to him and yanks him away by the back of his pants.

"Oh  _shit_!" Ryuuji's eyes widen at the shield that  _narrowly_  avoids him. That  _almost_  hit him! It almost did, had Jun not pulled him out of the way in time. "What the fuck, yo?!"

If this is supposed to be a prank, then it's a pretty sick one, because this is going too far. Ryuuji bites back a whimper when he sees a second knight join the first one.

"C-Calm down!" he blurts out. "Time out, time out!"

"We should run." Jun doesn't think those knights will listen to anything they have to say.

"You're right—we shouldn't mess with 'em!" Ryuuji ignores the burning sensation he feels bubbling in the pit of his stomach.  _"We should be faster!"_

The knights are dressed in heavy armor, so it shouldn't take Ryuuji and Jun too much effort to outrun them. But what the knights lacked in speed, they make up in numbers. More show up and block off any chances the two teenagers have to escape. Soon, they're surrounded and before Ryuuji can react, he feels a sharp, intense pain in his back.

"Aaugh!" The pain brings him down to his knees, making it difficult for him to move. He screams when the pain returns—this time, with a heavier weight pushing down on his back. "Gah!"

There's a knight pressing their shield down on his back. Their shield, plus their added weight, eventually pushes Ryuuji down onto the floor, effectively trapping him in place.

"Owowowowow!" Ryuuji cries out. "Y-You're gonna break my bones, dammit!"

It's a concern he has—one that brings back unpleasant memories. It's getting hard to breathe, his vision starting to fade.

"Kimura—just run!" he gasps out.

Jun ignores him and instead, tries pushing off the knight on his back. It doesn't work—she's far too small and weighs so much less to do anything more than a weak shove. That still doesn't stop her from trying, however.

"Get off him!" she yells out. Her anxiety's spiking up to uncomfortable, almost debilitating levels. She's seconds away from hyperventilating, but that still doesn't stop her from helping Ryuuji, despite his pleas for her to escape.

"Watch out!" he suddenly screams.

Jun never sees it coming. Pain explodes behind her eyes, rattling her head with its intensity. She drops to the floor and loses consciousness within seconds.

"K-Kimura!" Ryuuji gasps out, his vision growing darker with each passing second.

" **Take them away!"**  a voice booms out.

It's the last thing Ryuuji hears before blacking out entirely.

…

…

An unknown amount of time passes before Ryuuji regains his consciousness. He wakes up on the cold, hard floor. It hurts to breathe, but he can still move his body without any notable issues. He groans as he sits up, taking a moment to nurse his sore head. He can feel a headache coming on…

"Gaah…" His body aches from lying against such a hard surface—for how long, he doesn't know. It's the least of his worries, though…because when he sees Jun's still form lying on top of a wooden bed, he panics. "Kimura!"

He scrambles over to her, ignoring the throbbing pain that resonates in his head from yelling so loudly. It's fine though, because while he is hurting, he's not so seriously injured. Jun, on the other hand—he saw her get bashed over the head with a metal shield. To someone so small, a hit like that could be fatal.

"H-Hey—say somethin'!" Ryuuji gently shakes Jun by the shoulder. "C'mon! Just show me you're alive!"

Almost as though in response, a soft moan escapes Jun's lips.

"Good—okay!" Ryuuji breathes out in relief. She had him worrying there for a second… "This is good…"

She's unconscious…but alive.

" _What now?"_  Ryuuji runs his hand through his hair.  _"Shit…"_

…

…

"Hey…wake up…"

" _Huh?"_  Someone is calling out to her. Their voice is faint, so she can barely hear them…  _"Who?"_

She sees nothing but pitch-black darkness. Her mind wavers between haziness and clarity, making it difficult for her to think at all. She almost drifts off…

"Hey! Wake up!" But then that voice calls out to her again—it sounds much louder and clearer this time. Gradually, the haziness begins to fade from her mind as the voice continues to pull her out of the darkness of her unconscious mind. "C'mon, Kimura, wake up!"

And just like that—Jun regains consciousness. Her eyes flutter open, her vision blurring momentarily before clearing. The first thing she sees is Ryuuji's face, his expression that of concern.

"S-Sakamoto?" she sluggishly says. "Wha…nngh!"

A sharp pain jolts through her head. She curls up in a fetal position almost instinctively, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. The pain is just too much to bear…

"Careful—you got knocked in the head pretty hard!" Ryuuji isn't surprised to see Jun react so negatively. She'll likely need to see a doctor after this. "You got lucky, Kimura—that could've killed you…"

"G-Good to hear…" Jun says through her teeth. She's being sarcastic, but Ryuuji fails to notice. He's far too busy trying to help her sit up. "Ahhh…"

"Slowly—slowly!" Ryuuji tells her, letting her lean against his chest to rest for a moment. It's awkward, and his torso feels oddly tender towards any physical contact—but he ignores it. "You want me to carry you again?"

"N-No…I'm fine…" It still hurts, yes…but not as much anymore. "You can let me go now."

"R-Right." Ryuuji tries not to seem too flustered when he releases Jun. It's hard to stay calm, anyways, while stuck in this cramped jail cell.

"Where are we?" Jun lifts up her glasses to rub her eye.

"How should I know?" Ryuuji scratches at his head. "I just woke up too…uuugh, this ain't a dream, huh?"

It's taken this long to set in, but it doesn't lessen the impact it has on Ryuuji when he looks at the cell he's trapped in with Jun.

"Ugh, what's goin' on?!" Ryuuji runs over to the bars and checks the door. It's locked—of course. "Dammit!"

Ryuuji lifts his leg up and starts kicking at the door. The metal clangs loudly, but the door doesn't budge at all.

"Hey, let us outta here!" he yells between each kick. "I know there's someone out there!"

Jun doesn't talk much—she's too busy looking at the pink-colored splotches on the floor. Each step Ryuuji just took a second ago was like stepping in a puddle of pink water. It rippled and splashed out, slowly fading within a matter of seconds.

" _What is that?"_  Jun frowns. She winces a second later—it hurts too much to think right now.

"Dammit, where are we?!" Ryuuji ceases his kicking and walks back to Jun. "Is this some kinda TV set…?"

"I…don't know…" Jun grits her teeth. "Hurts…"

"Shit—we gotta take you to a doctor or somethin'." Ryuuji only wonders how he's going to explain it, though, because everyone's first thought will likely be that he's the one to blame for her injury.  _"She did get hurt because of me, though…"_

But that's beside the point!

"GUAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Just now, a scream in the distance sends shivers down their spine with its abrupt timing. It is quickly followed up with another—sounding more pained and just as real as the one before it.

"Th-The hell is that just now…?" Ryuuji's eyes are wide with shock. He rushes back to the door, peering out through the cell bars for any sign of the source of the screams.

Jun follows right after him, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head. She reaches the bars just in time to listen in on yet another blood-curdling scream

"Whoa…" Ryuuji feels his heart racing. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…You're shittin' me, right…?"

Denial has its limits and Ryuuji knows he's reached them. He breathes in deeply, grimacing afterwards at the pain he feels in his chest.

"Shit!" he swears loudly. He likely bruised a rib back there…maybe even more. "This is real bad…!"

They're both injured and stuck in a jail cell. The screams have not gotten any quieter, either, nor have they stopped. Ryuuji supposes he and Jun are lucky that they aren't bleeding out or something…but that's it!

"We gotta get outta here!" He looks frantically for any possible opening in the cell for them to escape. "There's gotta be some way out—we need to do something! C'mon, help me out!"

In the end, there's not much any of them can do. Their search of the cell resulted in no possible escape routes. Their only way out is through the door, which is locked.

"You know how to pick a lock?" Ryuuji looks at the keyhole. "Wait, we need something for that—you have a hairpin?"

"No, I…wait a second…" Jun reaches out for the flower that's still in her hair. She feels around it and comes across the familiar feel of a bobby pin.  _"So that's how it stayed in place!"_

The shopkeeper didn't just put a flower in her hair—she  _pinned_  it.

"I do—I have one!" Jun carefully removes the hairpin from her hair, not wanting to accidentally pull out a few strands of her hair. "It came with the flower!"

"Holy  _shit_ , I am so buying a bouquet from Hanasaki after this!" Ryuuji has never felt so elated to learn that Hanasaki's habit has some lifesaving uses. "Give that to me!"

"Who's Hanasaki?" Jun asks as she hands Ryuuji the hairpin.

"The lady who runs the flower shop—that's where you got the flower, yeah?" Ryuuji almost wants to laugh at how the camellia has managed to stay this long in her unruly hair. It's a funny sight—because it's honestly the last thing he expected to be so damn useful in this situation. "She gives out flowers to grade-schoolers. She probably thought you were one."

"I fucking knew it." Jun sighs loudly in exasperation. "I knew there had to be more to her niceness…"

"Hey, it's what's gonna save our asses." Ryuuji feels that he's speaking too soon, since he's still in the process of picking the lock. "Grr, why do they make it seem so easy on TV?"

"Lemme try…" Jun gently shoves Ryuuji to the side, taking over for him. "It might take me a bit, though…"

"Just try not to take too long…" Ryuuji runs his fingers through his hair. "So…you know how to pick locks?"

"Kinda—been too long." Jun hasn't practice in such a long time that it has taken a toll on her proficiency. "Should've practiced more…"

"Why would you need to practice?" Ryuuji has no idea why such a tiny girl as Jun would need to know how to pick locks in the first place.

"In case I get into situations like these." Jun's face contorts into a scowl. "Come on…just a little more!"

Ryuuji stares at Jun for a moment…then asks, "Who even taught you?"

"An uncle of mine—learned how to pick locks because of manga." Jun hopes Shibe is doing fine without her around. "Thought it looked really cool and honestly, it's useful."

"Riiight…" Ryuuji isn't going to complain, though. "You sure are strange, Kimura…"

"Ha, right back at you." Jun can't help but smile. "Got it!"

And just in time, because the hairpin is beyond any use by now. Jun discards it shortly after pushing open the door. As annoyed as she is for being mistaken for a child again, she is really thankful that Hanasaki gave her that flower.

" _I should buy something, too—like a plant."_  Jun feels that it'd be a nice way to connect to her Uncle Shiba, considering the love he has for gardening besides coffee and motorcycle maintenance. "Okay, let's go—whoa!"

"Sorry!" Ryuuji quickly apologizes as he pulls Jun away from the doorway. His timing is impeccable, as she barely avoids having the door slammed shut in front of her face. "Shit!"

Ryuuji bites back a yelp that wants to leave his mouth when he holds Jun close to his chest. He ignores it, his attention currently focused on the armored knight that slammed the door shut.

" **We should have known that you two would try to escape."**  The knight speaks in a deep, masculine voice. He is not alone, as there are other knights with him.  **"Be glad that your punishment has already been decided upon. Your charge is 'unlawful entry.' Thus, you will be sentenced to death."**

There is so much that's wrong with that statement. It sends shivers down Ryuuji's spine. He can feel how tense Jun is against his chest and unconsciously tightens his hold around her. It keeps him grounded, and likely helps her stay calm. For how long, though…he doesn't know, but it's better than just screaming or whimpering.

" **No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle,"**  a distorted voice speaks out. There is something eerily familiar about it, but it's only until the source of the voice walks up to the bars that Ryuuji finds out why.

The knights move out of the way to allow a tall, somewhat muscular man to walk to the front. He is dressed in only red-heart printed cape with white fur trimmings and a pair of pink briefs. A golden crown rests on top of his black, wavy hair, adding an air of arrogance to his already shameless appearance.

"Dude—what the fuck?!" Ryuuji places a hand over Jun's eyes. "Don't you have any shame?!"

"H-Hey!" Jun reaches up to tug at Ryuuji's hand over her eyes. It's uncomfortable, because it's pressing her glasses close to her face.

The man smirks at Ryuuji.  **"That's funny, coming from someone like you."**

"This sure is some sick joke you're pulling, Kamoshida!" Ryuuji scowls at the man. "Even for you, this is going too far."

"Kamoshida?" Jun remembers hearing that name before. "Wait—that's him?!"

"Yeah…in all his pervy glory," Ryuuji practically spats. "Put some effin' pants on!"

" **A king takes orders from no one,"**  Kamoshida states.  **"Heh, I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you, Sakamoto…Are you trying to disobey me again?"**

Ryuuji grits his teeth, resisting the urge he has to curse out Kamoshida.

" **It looks like you haven't learned your lesson at all, huh?"** Golden eyes glow eerily in the dim light.  **"Ohh, and it seems you're not alone this time—I didn't know you have a little sister, Sakamoto… "**

Ryuuji stiffens. "She's—she's not my lil' sis!"

" **Huh, I guess she is too cute to be related to a pathetic welp like you."**  A twisted grin crosses Kamoshida's face.  **"Still can't do anything for yourself, huh?"**

"This ain't funny, you asshole!" Ryuuji doesn't like the way Kamoshida looks at Jun. He releases Jun and quickly pushes her behind his back. "J-Just stay behind me!"

There is something about Ryuuji's protective stance that Jun finds so reassuring. Even though they've only just met, Jun feels that she can trust him with her life. It's why she wants to return the favor right back. She knows that she's not so strong to take on such heavily armored guards that are far larger than she is. She also knows that she's terrified beyond words, finding it difficult with each passing second to keep her breathing under control.

" _But that doesn't mean you're useless…"_  Jun knows that she's still capable of doing something.  _"You did it once—and you can do it again…"_

Right now, she just needs to stay calm and keep her guard up. Otherwise, it'll be difficult for her to act through her anxiety.

" **Is that how you speak to a king?"**  Kamoshida twitches visibly.  **"It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me—the king."**

"Get bent!" Ryuuji snaps.

" **The punishment for that is death."** There's a disturbing look of glee in Kamoshida's eyes when he smirks just then. He waves his arm and yells,  **"It's time for the execution! Take him out!"**

"S-Stop it…!" Ryuuji backs away from the door, taking care to gently push Jun to the side. He stands his ground, swallowing hard when the door swings open. The knights enter the jail cell one by one, soon surrounding Ryuuji and cornering him into a wall.  _"They're only after me…"_

Jun stands at the side, ignored by everyone in the cell but him. Kamoshida is far too distracted with Ryuuji's incoming execution to even notice as well. There's an opening Ryuuji sees right now—one that's going to hurt a lot, but will help Jun escape. If he's lucky, he might be able to escape, too… He grits his teeth and lunges forward at knight that's in front of him, putting all his weight into that one action.

"Hraugh!" Pain courses through his torso when he slams into the heavily armored knight. It hurts—it  _really_   **hurts** , but he ignores it all when he sees the knight topple back onto the floor.

_Thud!_

"I ain't down for this shit!" Ryuuji turns to Jun. "C'mon, we're outta here!"

He doesn't expect the knight by Jun to move so quickly. It's an oversight he immediately regrets when a gauntlet-covered hand punches him forcefully in the gut. It knocks the wind right out of him, pain eventually bringing him down to his knees.

"Nnngh…" Ryuuji brings a hand over his stomach. "Owww…"

It looks like he's not going to be escaping then…but Jun might be able to.

" _Y-Yeah…"_  Ryuuji lifts his head to look at Jun. He grits his teeth and tries to say something to her— _anything_  that could get her to run. He never gets the chance, though…because Jun has decided that she's not running away.

Jun yells out when she jumps onto a knight and starts climbing up his back. The knight makes no noticeable effort to shake her off, deciding that she isn't much of a threat. She's more of a nuisance, but it's something he'll deal with later.

"Just go!" Ryuuji urges her. "Get outta here…! These guys are serious!"

" **Oh? Running away, are we?"** Kamoshida looks at Jun, appearing far too amused with the sight he sees before him. He takes note of how high up she is on that knight's shoulder and wonders how long she can keep her balance on such an unsteady surface. He guesses not long enough for her escape attempt to matter.  **"What a heartless friend you are."**

" _Not good…"_  Ryuuji didn't mean for Jun to catch Kamoshida's attention. Nor did he mean for her to be affiliated with him in such a way. "She ain't a friend!"

The last thing he needs is for Kamoshida to take it out on Jun because of something he did.

"C'mon!" he screams at Jun. "Hurry up and go!"

Jun says nothing and only ignores Ryuuji, making absolutely no attempt to escape as she stands up.

 **"What's the matter?"**  Kamoshida feigns concern to mock Jun.  **"Too scared to run away?"**

"W-Wrong!" Jun clenches her teeth and jumps off the knight's shoulder. She only has one chance to do this right, so she takes it. She lands in such a way on the knight's spear that it breaks under her weight when the upper end of it hits the hard, stone floor. "Yes!"

She grabs the end she just broke off, taking care to avoid the metal blade that's attached to it. She quickly jumps to her feet and lunges forward, plunging her makeshift dagger of sorts into the knight's left wrist. She grins when the blade sinks into soft flesh instead of bouncing off metal plating.

" _Perfect!"_  Laughter bubbles up in her throat when she sees the knight reacting the way she was hoping he would. He releases his hold on his shield and drops it. There's only a small amount of time for Jun to react, but she manages. She pulls out the dagger and shoves her weight against the falling shield so that it lands against a nearby knight. It pushes him roughly against the wall, having been caught off-guard by the sudden turn of events.  _"That's what you get for underestimating me!"_

Jun understands that her appearance played a crucial role in helping her turn the tables against Kamoshida and his guards. She's thankful for it, yes, but at the same time, she's very annoyed. So she decides that she'll make sure that Kamoshida regrets  _ever_  underestimating her.

"This is for Sakamoto!" Jun rushes towards Kamoshida, makeshift dagger ready in her hands. She knows better than to attack Kamoshida outright—especially with Ryuuji still downed in front of an armed knight. She needs Kamoshida as a bargaining chip, so she grabs him by the cape and forcefully yanks him down to her level, her dagger pointed at his stomach. "Order your guards to let us go or I'll fucking gut you!"

Kamoshida whimpers almost pathetically, his expression no longer filled with arrogance but fear. Beads of sweat roll down his face as he's forced to look directly into Jun's eyes.  **"I-I'll do whatever you want—just don't hurt me!"**

"Then do as I say!" Jun lightly jabs Kamoshida's stomach with the tip of her dagger. "Or else…"

Kamoshida hesitates at first, but fear eventually wins him over.  **"Y-You heard her."**

" **Are you sure, King Kamoshida?"**  a knight questions Kamoshida, his sword still pointed at Ryuuji.  **"How are we to know that she won't go back on her word?"**

"Would you rather I castrate him instead?" Jun is far too aware of how close she is to Kamoshida's crotch, as well as the unwanted eyeful she got of it. "Because I can do that instead."

" **How dare you threaten King Kamoshida like this, you wench!"**  The knight raises his sword, but doesn't move from his place.

"I don't think you understand the position you're in at all." Ryuuji's mouth forms into a toothy grin. Though he is still baffled with what he's seen so far, he can't ignore the irony that's there. "Or would you rather find out the hard way?"

" **E-Enough!"**  Kamoshida gasps out.  **"That's enough…they're free to go. Lower your sword."**

The knight hesitates for a moment, but does as he's told. He watches as Ryuuji gets up, the other two knights doing the same. It's embarrassing how such a tiny girl could get the best of them, though the fault lies entirely with them for underestimating her.

"Gyaaugh!" Of course, that just means they'll have to take better care this time, now that it's come to Jun's attention just how vulnerable she is with that long hair of hers. Her scalp burns and stings from how harshly Kamoshida yanked on her hair. She hisses when he roughly tangles his hand into her hair, gripping it tightly so as to restrict her movement.

Kamoshida uses his free hand to grab Jun by the wrist. He quickly twists her arm behind her back, forcing her to drop the blade in her hand. The second the blade hits the ground, Kamoshida's knights force Ryuuji back onto the floor.

"You son of a bitch!" Ryuuji should've known something like this could happen. He should've—but now it's too late to do anything about it. Their only chance to escape slipped through their fingers because of such an obvious oversight.  _"Dammit!"_

" **I guess this will teach me to underestimate any of my prisoners."**  Kamoshida twists his hand, eliciting another scream of pain from Jun's mouth.  **"A lesson learned…I should've figured that there had to be a reason why you were with someone like Sakamoto. Speaking of whom…I have an execution to perform. After his, you'll be next."**

"N-No…!" Jun cries out. She chokes back a sob when Kamoshida yanks his fingers out of her hair. She's only lucky that he didn't pull out any hair, but it still doesn't make it any less painful.

" **Just like this flower in your hair…"**  Kamoshida looks at the red camellia he's pulled out of Jun's hair. A menacing grin crosses his face when he closes his hand over the flower and crushes it.  **"I wonder how you'll look after I'm through with you…"**

Red flower petals fall to the floor from Kamoshida's hand like drops of blood. It's an ominous sight, but it just shows that Kamoshida is done messing around.

…

…

There's not much Jun can do right now. A guard has a sword pointed at her, effectively cornering her. She watches as two guards hold Ryuuji up, locking him in place in front of Kamoshida.

" **You have your little friend to thank for this, Sakamoto…"** Kamoshida cracks his knuckles.  **"Because I am in a _very_  bad mood…"**

Ryuuji snorts. "Like I care—augh!"

Kamoshida grins widely when his fist smashes into Ryuuji's face, laughing when he hears the teenager yelp in pain. He throws a second punch, and then another and another.  **"Lowly scum!"**

Jun can only watch as Kamoshida continues his brutal assault on Ryuuji. She can't look away—she's being forced to watch as punishment.

" **Useless pest!"**  Kamoshida knocks Ryuuji down onto the floor. He kneels down and grabs a handful of Ryuuji's short blond hair. Kamoshida pulls Ryuuji up so that they're looking eye to eye.  **"Hmph…Where'd your energy from earlier go? Huh?"**

Ryuuji grits his teeth, but says nothing.

"Th-That's enough!" Jun can't take it anymore. "Please…"

" **Please, huh?"**  Kamoshida turns his head to Jun, a twisted smile crossing his face.  **"Maybe if you two get down on all fours and beg me for your life, I will consider letting you live. How about it, Sakamoto?"**

Kamoshida turns to look at Ryuuji, freezing still when a wad of spit hits his cheek. Golden eyes stare into a pair of defiant brown. Without even thinking twice about it, Ryuuji has just given Kamoshida his answer.

_THUD!_

" **So be it,"**  Kamoshida says after smashing Ryuuji's head into the floor. He releases Ryuuji's blond hair and gets up.  **"A peasant like you isn't worth beating…I'll have you killed right now."**

"Stop it!" Jun screams, her hands balled up tightly into fists.

" **Hm…?"**  Kamoshida turns to Jun, taking note of the look on her face. He starts walking towards her and suppresses the urge he has to laugh when he sees her tremble.  **"You still have it in you to talk back, huh?"**

Jun bites back a scream when Kamoshida literally gets in her face. His hand shoots out and grabs her roughly by the chin. "Geh!"

" **Look at you—you're trembling…"**  Kamoshida laughs.  **"You know, looking at you closely like this…you have such a pretty face."**

Nausea bubbles up in the pit of Jun's stomach. She can feel bile rising in throat, the urge to gag growing stronger the longer Kamoshida looks her over like some sort of object. She swallows hard when Kamoshida lifts her glasses up for a moment.

" **You look a lot better without these glasses."**  Kamoshida laughs when Jun shudders, roughly releasing her face afterwards.  **"But that look in your eyes—it really…** _ **pisses me off**_ **."**

Still defiant despite her fear, Kamoshida raises his foot and kicks Jun right in the stomach, sending her back against the wall. He watches her gasp for air, having knocked the wind right out of her. A lecherous grin crosses his face when he notes the sight he can see from where he stands right now.

" **Striped, huh?"**  A blush colors Kamoshida's cheeks red.  **"I didn't think you were the type to wear that."**

Jun scowls at Kamoshida as she reaches down to adjust her skirt. Her face burns red with anger and shame. She  _really_  regrets not castrating him when she had the chance.

" **Hold her there—after the peasant, it's her turn."**  Kamoshida turns his back to her, focusing his attention back on Ryuuji as the knight wielding the sword approaches him.

Jun gets up from the floor and tries to rush towards Ryuuji's side. She barely takes a few steps forward before she's pinned against the wall by the two remaining knights. All it takes is a single hand on her shoulders to keep her locked into place. Struggling is futile she quickly finds, her blood running cold when she hears Kamoshida start to laugh.

" _This can't be how it ends…"_  Jun refuses to believe the inevitable.  _"There has to be a way…"_

She can't just watch as Kamoshida kills Ryuuji—she just  _can't_!

"H-Help…me…" Ryuuji croaks out, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

" _But what can I do?!"_ She digs her fingernails into the palms of her hands.  _"What can I fucking do?!"_

" _ **This is truly an unjust game…"**_  a soft, feminine voice speaks out.  _ **"Your chances of winning are almost none."**_

" _Huh…?"_  Jun stares at the white butterfly that slowly flutters by. There's an iridescent glow emanating from it. With each flap of its wings, it sends out a small cloud of glittering scales out that sparkle like stars in the night sky.

" _ **But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you…"**_  The butterfly turns around and lands on Jun's face, tiny legs tickling her skin.  _ **"So don't give up just yet."**_

Jun blinks and almost immediately, the butterfly disappears from her sight. Her eyes look left to right for the butterfly, but there's no sign that it was ever in the cell to begin with.  _"What was…that?"_

" _ **What's the matter…?"**_  a different voice speaks out. It's nothing like the first voice—deep and masculine, with a tone that's harshly provoking than gentle.  _ **"Are you simply going to watch?"**_

" _Who—!"_  Jun's eyes widen.

" _ **Are you forsaking him to save yourself?"**_  the voice continues. It pulls no punches, striking first where it hurts the most to get Jun to react.  _ **"Death awaits him if you do nothing."**_

Anger builds up inside of Jun the longer she listens to that voice. Whomever it is that's speaking to her—can't they see she's trapped? She's tried everything that she can already. It's just no use…

" _ **Was your previous decision a mistake then?"**_  The question the voice asks Jun is like a slap to her face. It stings, making her burn with an uncomfortable heat.

Memories of that night flood her head, vividly reminding her of all that had happened. She clenches her teeth when she recalls the burst of courage she had to pull the drunk man away from the woman he was harassing. Under any normal circumstances, her actions wouldn't amount to anything that could seriously injure anyone. However, due to his intoxicated state, the man quickly lost his balance and fell.

And that's how he got hurt. It was a shocking sight to say the least. All Jun could do afterwards was stare at her hands as the woman behind her pulled her close, quickly putting distance between them and the fallen man. There were questions she was frantically asked, gentle hands keeping her grounded when she was seconds away from breaking down.

It's funny how much concern that woman had for Jun despite her distress. It's a shame that their encounter ended so differently, thanks to that lecherous drunkard. It pisses her off the more she thinks about it.

"Was it a mistake?" she asks herself. Her decision is what got her into this mess in the first place. She's all alone because she just  _had_  to get involved.  _"Still…"_

Despite the outcome of her actions, Jun finds that she doesn't have any regrets. The look of relief on the woman's face and her words of gratitude—even if it was only for a brief moment, Jun still remembers it clearly. She helped someone that night, and though she got blamed for a crime she didn't commit to cover up the lecherous acts of a drunkard, she still doesn't regret a thing.

"It wasn't." If there is a chance she got to relive those events from last night—a chance in which she can change the past—she'd still repeat her actions. She'd do it as many times as possible, regardless of the outcome. There is nothing wrong that she did—because it's not her fault nor the woman's. No—it's  _all_  that man's fault.  _"Yeah…"_

The sounds of Ryuuji's gasps snap Jun out of her thoughts. She looks at him, her heart nearly stopping when she sees him pinned against the wall by a knight. The knight holds Ryuuji up by his neck, making it difficult for the boy to breathe. Ryuuji scratches at the knight's hand, but his fingernails only scrape against the metal of a gauntlet. He's absolutely helpless as the knight raises his sword to strike.

"No!" Jun continues her struggles once more. She doesn't budge at all from her position, but that doesn't stop her from trying. At least she's doing something, instead of nothing.

" _ **Very well…"**_  the voice remarks, sounding oddly pleased.  _ **"I have heeded your resolve."**_

_Th-Thump!_

Tears spring to Jun's eyes from the indescribable pain that suddenly blossomed in her head. She begins to flail in agony, screams leaving her mouth as the pain only intensifies. It feels like knife has been jabbed into her brain, twisting and turning painfully with absolutely no intent on stopping. Tears roll down her face, beads of sweat soon following after.

" _ **Vow to me!"**_  the voice speaks to her again. Another sharp spike of pain elicits a scream from her, but the voice doesn't seem bothered by it at all.  _ **"I am thou, and thou art I…Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!"**_

Saliva dribbles down the sides of her mouth as she convulses in pain.

" _ **Call upon my name, and release thy rage!"**_  the voice speaks fervently over an earsplitting scream of Jun's.  _ **"Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"**_

Jun chokes back a sob when the pain finally resides after one last eruption. She swallows hard, her throat raw from screaming. She lifts her head, her expression hardening into a glare when she sees Kamoshida pointing at Ryuuji. Anger burns through her veins, coursing through her like fire.

" **Execute him!"**  Kamoshida demands.

"That's enough!" Jun yells. Her voice cracks halfway through, her head throbbing in protest against her loud voice. It does nothing to shake the defiant look she has in her eyes as she glares at Kamoshida.

" **What was that…?"**  He turns around to face Jun, his expression dark.

The knight behind Kamoshida releases Ryuuji from his hold. Ryuuji lands on his feet, coughing and gasping for air. He leans back against the wall for support, his vision slowly returning to him. He had almost passed out…

" **You know, I was considering letting you live."**  Kamoshida's face contorts into a scowl.  **"A girl with your pretty face would make a worthy servant for a princess—amongst other things. But if that's how you're going to act, then** _ **fine**_ **! I guess I'll just let you die."**

Kamoshida gives his guards a wordless signal and Jun is released from their hold. She stands on wobbly legs, her body still shaking from the intense pain she felt earlier. She turns her head, noticing a movement out of the corner of her eye. She chokes on a scream when a knight bashes her in the head with his shield, knocking her glasses onto the floor in the process.

It surprises her that she's still standing. Her vision swims and blurs, making it hard for her to see anything. For a moment, she sees white when she's suddenly pinned against the wall for a second time. Pain flares up in the back of her head, the abuse only worsening the state of her injury from earlier.

The knights are the only reason Jun stays upright when her legs finally give out on her. Slowly, her consciousness fades and her body goes limp. Kamoshida laughs gleefully at the sight, taking great pleasure in finally snuffing out that last bit of fight Jun had in her.

Ryuuji tries to stay on his feet, his gaze focused on Kamoshida's back. Kamoshida is wide open for an attack.  _"I can save her, if I can only…nngh!"_

His hand slips against the wall and he falls to the floor. His limbs feel heavy like lead, making it difficult for him to move without expending too much energy. He lacks the energy to keep going, having expended the last of it just mere seconds ago. He can only watch in horror as the knight raises his sword into the air, ready to strike down on Jun.

_Th-Thump!_

Jun's eyes suddenly snap open, consciousness immediately returning to her. An invisible force expels from her body like a gale of strong wind and pushes the knights back. Her hair flies wildly around her, as though it has a life of its own. The force intensifies, knocking down at least one of the knights onto the floor. Kamoshida braces himself from the knockback, shielding his eyes with his arm.

The air soon calms around them and Kamoshida lowers his arm, his eyes widening in shock at the sight of Jun standing on her feet. He can hear her labored breaths, her hands balled up into fists. Slowly, she lifts her head, revealing the white mask that now covers the upper half of her face. It has black markings around the eyes and a bird-like appearance to it. It's a lot like a mask one would wear at a masquerade.

Jun feels around at the mask on her face, wondering where it came from. She gasps when a thought pops into her head, telling her to pull it off immediately. She grasps the mask firmly with both hands and starts to tug. The action is met with resistance as the mask refuses to budge from her face. It clings to her skin as though it's been glued on.

" _ **Pull it off,"**_  the thought returns. It echoes continuously in her head, urging her to do as it says. Panic rises in her chest as she continues to tug at the mask. Eventually, she decides to grasp it on one side and pull. This time, the mask finally budges.

That's when Jun starts screaming in agony. It feels as though she's ripping off her own skin, the pain only increasing as she continues to peel the mask off. The metallic scent of blood soon fills her nose, warm liquid spilling down her face from where the mask once was.

With one last yank, she rips off the mask and screams her throat raw. Blood drips from her face, somehow managing to avoid staining her clothes. She looks up at Kamoshida with her bloodied face, her eyes glowing an eerie gold as a manic grin creeps across her face.

Blue flames shoot up into the air around her, setting the blood on her face ablaze. For a moment, it almost looks as though she is wearing a mask made out of flames. Then the fire engulfs her face completely. At that moment, another face appears—one that's made out of red flames instead of blue. Its expression is completely identical to Jun's, though it is much more intimidating due to its eerie appearance.

A mischievous—almost malicious—laugh erupts from Jun, though it's not her who's laughing, but someone else. It is likely the owner of the fiery visage that stares out at Kamoshida and his guards. The fire spreads downward until Jun is completely enveloped in blue flames. There is no pain at all that she feels—no burning or nothing. The fire is completely harmless to her.

In fact—it's almost as though it's treating her with the utmost care. Gone is the pain in her head, no longer bothering her with its constant throbbing. Energy flows throughout her body, washing away her exhaustion and invigorating her. She stands on steady legs now, feeling far better than she ever has before.

The blue flames rise from Jun, maintaining a silhouette that seems oddly humanoid. Chains rise into the air, following after the humanoid silhouette as it takes on a much larger size. Its form soon gains a relatively masculine appearance that's dressed formally in a red suit. It's a suit that one would likely see a gentleman wearing during the Victorian era—with distinct modifications, of course.

The suit jacket is shortened in a style that makes it resemble a bolero jacket, revealing the black waistcoat that's worn underneath. Sharp, black nails extend outwards like claws from red, fingerless gloves. A tall, black top hat rests on top of the being's head and a black mask covers their face. On the upper ends of the mask are two large horns that point outwards. Heels made out of blades make the unnaturally tall being stand at an even  _taller_  height.

Chains are wrapped around the being's waist, restricting their movement. Their fiery red gaze is focused on Jun, who stands before them holding their chains in her hands. She is dressed in a different outfit now, no longer wearing her high school uniform. Instead, she now wears a gray, collared shirt underneath a black dress coat with red gloves, black pants, and brown, heeled boots.

Jun feels completely at ease despite the chains that are rattling noisily around her. She lifts her hands up and releases the chains that she holds, causing them loosen around the being behind her. With enough space given to them to escape their bindings, the being unfurls their wings with a force that sends the knights crashing into the walls and cell door.

Kamoshida cowers against the wall, scrambling away with a loud whimper like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. Ryuuji stares wide-eyed at the sight before him, mouth open wide in awe.

"Wha…What the…?" Ryuuji is shocked at the expression Jun has on her face. Her eyes are wide and alert—a stark contrast to the sleepy, half-lidded look that she had when he first met her. The wide grin on her face is full of glee, but for reasons that disturbs Ryuuji slightly.  _"What happened to her?"_

It's as though Jun has become an entirely different person.

" **I am the pillager of twilight—Arsène Lupin!"**  the being introduces themself…no— _himself_  (something in her head tells Jun that he's male and likes to be referred as such). Jun recognizes his voice as the one who had spoken to her earlier.

"What the…?" Ryuuji wasn't expecting the being—Arsène—to talk.

Jun doesn't say much as she looks herself over, taking in her new clothes. It's a nice look, even though she's not sure where it came from. She looks over her shoulder at Arsène, who just smiles at her through his mask.

" **I am the rebel's soul that resides within you,"** he explains.  **"If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis."**

Jun stares up at Arsène with a determined look in her eyes. "I don't want to die."

Arsène laughs, finding Jun's response amusing.  **"Hmph, very well…"**

" **Who the hell are you…?!"**  Kamoshida stands by the doorway, staring warily at Jun and Arsène. His face contorts into a scowl.  **"Guards! Start by killing that one!"**

The knights melted into puddles of red slime that quickly transmogrified into two floating jack-o'-lanterns. They wore pointed hats and had a cape wrapped around their 'necks.' A single gloved hand hangs out in the open from their capes, grasping a lit lantern that glows the same color as their eyes.

" **You'll learn the true strength of my men."**  Kamoshida smiles menacingly.

Jun slowly exhales and adjusts her gloves.  _"Stay calm…"_

" **Detest the enemies before you!"**  Arsène yells out, startling Jun out of her thoughts.  **"Change that animosity into power…and unleash it!"**

Power surges through Jun, coursing through her body as a word pops into her head. She doesn't know the meaning of the word, but a part of her tells her to yell it out anyways—and so she does. "Eiha!"

Vibrant red energy strikes one of the jack-o'-lanterns, weakening it significantly with tangible negativity. The other jack-o'-lantern lunges towards Jun to attack, but is quickly blocked off by a large hand that gets in its way. Arsène glares at the jack-o'-lantern for attempting to harm Jun, causing it to cower away in fear.

A weight manifests into Jun's hand at that moment. When she looks down, she sees that she is holding a dagger. The blade is long and sharp—it is a weapon that Arsène has given to her for her own protection.

" **Swing your blade!"**  Arsène commands her. He gives her a slight push towards the jack-o'-lanterns, not letting her waste any time to hesitate.

The action gives her a burst of courage that sends her rushing towards the weakened jack-o'-lantern. She swings the dagger a few times, eyes widening when the blade slices the jack-o'-lantern in half. The halves turn black and quickly dissolve out of existence.

" **Good!"**  Arsène nods his head in approval.  **"This power of mine is yours! Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart's content!"**

There's something disturbing that Jun ought to find about a strange being telling her to have fun with killing stuff. And yet, all she does is smile instead. She says nothing this time, but Arsène can hear her tell him a command with her thoughts.

" **Very well."**  Arsène tips his hat and unleashes a burst of negative red energy upon the remaining jack-o'-lantern. The attack kills the enemy in one hit, eliciting a pleased grunt from him. He reaches down afterwards to gently pat Jun on the head, having noticed her trembling.  **"You did well for your first battle. You pass."**

Jun relaxes under his touch and almost leans into it like a cat. She catches herself though, but Arsène still laughs because he knows that she thought about it.

"What…" Ryuuji still doesn't know what to say. Just now—he watched Jun fight against floating pumpkins with that  _thing_.  _"Seriously, what's goin' on?"_

" **You little bitch!"**  Kamoshida stumbles over to Jun, his hand formed into a fist. He tries to punch Jun while she's distracted, but Arsène intervenes by bringing his own fist down. Kamoshida freezes still, his eyes staring widely at Arsène's balled up fist that's in front of him. Had he moved any faster—just now, that would've hurt him…  **"Aahhh…"**

" **You will bring no harm to her at all!"**  Arsène growls, his mask glowing brightly with fiery red flames.

Kamoshida cowers under Arsène's harsh stare and slowly backs away. He is far too distracted with fear to notice that Ryuuji has gotten off the floor. He doesn't notice the boy rushing towards him until it's too late. Ryuuji tackles Kamoshida harshly, disrupting his sense of balance and sending him to the floor.

" **Aagh!"**  Kamoshida grunts when he lands against the floor.

"You like that, you son of a bitch?!" Ryuuji feels a bit lightheaded when he laughs. Though, it's not anything bad—rather, it's from how oddly  _happy_ he feels.  _"Yeah, the shithead got what he deserved!"_

"The key!" Jun suddenly yells out, pointing Ryuuji towards the ring of keys lying on the floor by Kamoshida.

"Y-You mean this?!" Ryuuji snatches the keys off the floor and runs out of the cell.

Jun trails after him, not noticing that a certain acquaintance of hers has disappeared on her. As soon as she left the cell, Ryuuji slams the door shut and starts looking for the right key to lock it. It takes him less than a minute, much to his relief.

_Click!_

"Okay, it's locked!" Ryuuji exclaims with a wide grin on his face. "Good!"

" **Damn you!"**  Kamoshida loudly curses. He glares at the two teenagers, one hand held to his aching head. There's not much he can do now while locked behind bars, making him nothing more than a harmless nuisance…for the moment.

"Hey…!" Ryuuji turns to Jun. "What was that just now?!"

"I don't know…" Jun replies with a frown. She is just as confused as he is.

"And…your clothes…!" Ryuuji wonders what happened to her other clothes. It's something he finds out a second later when Jun's clothes revert back to her school uniform. "Whoa, it went back to normal…?!"

"My glasses…!" Jun is pleasantly surprised to find her glasses back on her face. For a second, she almost thought she'd have to buy a new pair—because there was no way she was going back inside that cell again.

"Forget about your glasses!" Ryuuji can't believe that reaction of hers. "You just took down a pair of floatin' pumpkins with that thing!"

Jun furrows her brow. "Arsène?"

"Whatever!" Ryuuji doesn't give a damn about that—he just wants answers. "Waaaaah!"

Of course, that will have to wait until later because Kamoshida just shook the cell bars, reminding Ryuuji and Jun that now is not a good time for them to stand around and talk.

 **"You bastards!"**  Kamoshida snarls at them.

Ryuuji runs his fingers through his hair. "God, this's fuckin' nuts!"

"You sure said it, Sakamoto…" Jun sighs in exasperation.

"Anyways, let's scram! You lead the way, Kimura!" Ryuuji throws the keys into a nearby stream of water before following after Jun. They quickly put some distance between them and Kamoshida, not wanting to stick around any longer as he curses them out.

" **After them!"**  he yells out at the top of his lungs.  **"Don't let them escape!"**

That…doesn't sound good.

"Shit, we  _really_  need to book it!" Ryuuji grimaces he feels a familiar pain in his leg. "Ngh…"

"Are you okay?" Jun quickly asks him.

Ryuuji nods his head. "I'm fine—just keep going! We can't afford to get caught again!"

"R-Right…" Jun understands. "We're fucked if we do."

"Ahaha, you know—you don't strike me as the type to swear like that." Ryuuji tries to lighten up the mood. "And back there, wow…just  _wow_."

"Heh, you're not so bad yourself." Jun smiles at Ryuuji.

_Ba-dump!_

" _H-Huh?!"_  Ryuuji feels his cheeks heat up. He's not sure why, but just now—there's something about Jun's smile that makes him feel… _weird_.  _"Gaaah, this makes no effin' sense!"_

This sort of confusion is the last thing he needs…especially now, of all times.

"Fuck—we're gonna be late!" Jun suddenly yells.

Ryuuji almost stops running then. "Are you for real?!"

After all they've been through, Jun still considers that an actual concern? That's just so…unbelievable, Ryuuji wants to say, but the more he thinks about, the funnier it actually is to him. It's enough to make him laugh…which he does.

"Huh?" Jun looks perplexed at Ryuuji, wondering what's up with him. Just a second ago, he looked so annoyed and now he's laughing? "You're really weird, Sakamoto."

Her comment only spurs on even louder laughter from the blond. Eventually, she joins along, finding his laughter rather contagious. For a brief moment, the two teenagers forget the serious trouble that they're in. And that's fine, because even if it's just for a minute—it's enough to keep them grounded.

From here on out, their survival is on the line…and that's quite fine with Jun. Because she's no longer alone—she has Ryuuji.

And Ryuuji has her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I want you guys to know that I've given Jun cat-like fangs, because it's just something that was decided to add even more to the cat inspiration. And just so she and Ryuuji (who's gonna say FUCK in this story when he's very upset) can be teeth buddies, since you know those sharp teeth he has in his all-out portrait? I consider those his actual teeth, like…HE HAS SHARP TEETH. You will have to pry that aspect of his out of my cold, dead hands…
> 
> Alongside an Ann who I envision as being not so pale as she's shown in the game. She's got a warmer skin tone, like a light tan of sorts. I just feels it goes a lot better with her blonde hair (and also, not every Japanese person is pale). And also, it kinda adds a bit of irony with the gyaru thought Jun had towards her. Because long before we got Ann's name confirmed, everyone was calling her Junko, because she looks like a certain Ultimate Fashionista from the DR series. And the thing about Junko is that her Japanese title is actually Super High School Level Gyaru—Gyaru being a type of subculture in Japan that revolves around fashion. Usually it can refer to those who tan their skin and bleach their hair, which in itself is an act of rebellion, going against the idea of bihaku, which means "beautifully white" and refers to skin tone. Of course, gyaru can also follow through with bihaku glamour style, too. It really depends…
> 
> But that's enough about that, let me get to explaining the term hāfu in case anyone is confused. Hāfu is used in Japanese to refer to someone who is biracial—more specifically, someone who is half-Japanese. Hāfu is what Jun is, since she is half-Korean. Ann, on the other hand, is quarter-American and a quarter does not equal a half. Most people like her would identify as being just Japanese, but considering the fact that she has blonde hair and blue eyes—that's rather difficult for her to do when most people would likely mistake her for a foreigner…
> 
> Except for Jun, who guessed correctly that Ann was still Japanese—just not fully. And like, I've watched the Hāfu documentary (get a chance to look at it if you can, it is VERY informative and education) and from what I know about Japan…is that they're pretty discriminatory to those who aren't fully Japanese. Anyways, you can just consider Jun's outburst as her attempt to reach out to someone who isn't fully Japanese like her. It might've started as a slight misconception, but hey, Ann noticed her and the two certainly have something to bond over.
> 
> Moving on, can you believe that Jun wears [kitty tights](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/55/7e/d0/557ed0159993c26aa660616e4f154d7b.jpg), because she sure does and that just started as a joke because I wanted to mess with her a little bit. Then I realized how much attention it'll grab and it ended up helping me make a reference to a [favorite piece of Persona 5 fan art ](http://marudyne.tumblr.com/post/160343927729/theres-a-cat-in-the-phantom-thieves-but-its-not)I've come across that revolves around the fact that Protag was based off a cat. Oh, and as for that camellia flower—would you believe me when I said it just started out as a sign of Jun's bad luck?
> 
> Camellia flowers, in the context of hospitals, are considered bad luck because part of the flower will fall after blooming, and it's thought to look like a head dropping. The bad luck association really depends on the context, but the point still stands that they can be considered unlucky…and Jun is rather unlucky, so the flower fits her well. Otherwise, it symbolizes the divine and represents the coming of spring in Japan. In Korea, the camellia flowers are a symbol of faithfulness and longevity—just thought I'd share that tidbit, ahaha…
> 
> Anyways that flower ended up being useful in providing Jun a hairpin to pick a lock and you have her uncle, Shibe, to thank for that. Also, Jun getting lost while looking for the Ginza Line is brought to you by my actual gameplay experience during the Fanfiction Run stream, in which I got lost because fast travel ruined me.
> 
> Also, Jun's smiles make the hearts go wild. Ryuuji is just the first of many who will have that reaction. By the by, should also mention—seeing as it's Pride month, by the by, happy Pride y'all—but like Yu in Facade, Jun isn't straight either (and neither is your writer, by the way). And unless I say so, like I will for Kamoshida and Sōjirō right now, don't assume anyone is straight.
> 
> Do tell me if you enjoy this fic, seriously anything will do. I crave validation to almost obsessive levels that it's pathetic. (But I will say, comments encourage me to work harder, as I have done so far, so thank you very much for the feedback!!)
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Until next time, everyone!


	4. Zorro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is brought to you by a lack of a functioning laptop, lack of Microsoft word, the annoyance that is autocorrect, my two tablets that I bought for the sake of playing KHUX, Google docs, and my PS4's YouTube app!
> 
> I went through  _hell_ writing this chapter on a freaking tablet, with autocorrect hounding my ass and a touch screen keyboard that can't be trusted 100%.
> 
> Please appreciate the effort that I put in for this chapter… Other that, read on!

There comes a point where Ryuuji can no longer hide his exhaustion from Jun. He's gasping and panting for air as he follows her up a flight of stairs, trying his best to ignore the agonizing pain in his right leg. He almost collapses when they get to the top of the stairwell, his leg struggling to sustain his weight.

"I-Is this…the exit?" he gasps out, looking hopefully at the door before them.

"Only one way to find out," Jun replies, though she doesn't intend on opening the door just yet. "But before that, I wanna ask…are you okay?"

Ryuuji quickly forces a smile and gives her a thumbs-up. "Never better!"

Jun stares blankly at him, looking less than impressed with his response. She knows he's lying—he has to do a lot better than  _that_  to fool her. "Is that so?"

"Y-Yeah…" Beads of sweat begin to roll down the sides of his face. He can tell that she's not buying it…but that still doesn't stop him from trying. "Of course!"

Without any warning, Jun's hand shoots out and firmly jabs Ryuuji in his right thigh. She isn't at all surprised when a pained yelp leaves his mouth. "So I was right…"

"Th-The hell?!" Ryuuji grits his teeth through the pain. He didn't actually expect her to do something like  _that_. "You don't just do that to people!"

"I-I…right…" Jun feels her face heating up from embarrassment. She is still too used to being around her uncles… "Sorry, I just keep forgetting I'm not home anymore."

That…definitely raises a lot more questions that Ryuuji has regarding Jun. He stares at her for a moment, expecting it to be some kind of joke she's trying to pull. When he realizes she's being serious, Ryuuji takes a moment to compose himself (he doesn't want to scare her again)…and says, "First off—what the hell?"

Jun opens her mouth to say something, but Ryuuji quickly cuts her off. "Second of all—don't answer. This ain't the time for that."

Ryuuji pushes Jun gently to the side and walks toward the door to open it. He doesn't feel like testing their luck by sticking around any longer in one place. Not too long ago, they were hiding from some knights that were looking for them… They're  _still_  looking for them, too, now that he thinks about it.

"C'mon, we need to leave." Ryuuji reaches out and grabs Jun by the hand. He hopes it'll get her to snap out of it. He can't have her lagging behind…  _"Please be an exit…please be an exit!"_

He kicks the door open and holds his breath. He nearly chokes on his spit when finds that it's not an exit.

"Dude…you gotta be jokin'…" His eyes widen in disbelief at the sight. They're still trapped in this hellhole with Kamoshida and his guards… "Son of a bitch—this ain't an exit! What the hell is this place?!"

His body trembles with both anger and fear. It's been a while since he's been this freaked out…it's almost embarrassing.

" _Right in front of a girl, huh?"_  Ryuuji almost laughs. A wry smile crosses his face as he uses his free hand to run his fingers through his short hair. He wonders why Jun hasn't said anything to him yet—he's still holding her hand after all.  _"Maybe I should let go?"_

And he does—rather awkwardly, too, as he mutters a quick apology and avoids looking in her direction. Jun just stares at him for a moment and shrugs it off. She's not sure what he's apologizing for, but if it makes him feel any better, then she's not going to stop him.

"Another prison cell…?" Ryuuji quickly changes the subject by putting attention on the cell they're walking by—it's just as empty as the ones they've passed before. He looks ahead in the distance and sees some cages hanging above the water. It takes him a moment, but he soon realizes that there's something off…and that's when he realizes he's found the source of all those screams. "We really did hear people screamin'…So we ain't the only ones who got captured!"

The cages weren't empty like the ones they saw downstairs—there are two boys trapped inside. They're both reaching out through the bars, calling desperately for help. They pay no attention to Jun and Ryuuji as they walk by so hesitantly. It's almost as though they're being ignored…

"Is, uh…is he okay?" Ryuuji notices that the cell nearby them isn't empty either. Far inside the cell, there's a boy slumped against the wall. He's not moving much, but Ryuuji can see his body twitching—so he's not dead.  _"But he sure as hell doesn't look okay…"_

"We should leave…" Jun says. "Or else we might end up like them."

Ryuuji frowns, but he doesn't say anything else.  _"This is so fucked up…"_

Moving forward, they eventually come across a bridge. Unlike the one that they came across earlier in the floor below them, this bridge is intact and larger in size.

"Dammit, the bridge's up!" However, it is also out of commission, preventing anyone from crossing to the other side. "Ain't there some way to lower it?!"

"Hmm…" Jun stares at the raised up bridge. There has to be some way to lower it…

"Ugh…what a creepy-ass statue." Ryuuji's face contorts in disgust upon looking at the statue next to the bridge. "Is this s'posed to be Kamoshida? Oh yeah—how's yer head?"

"Uhh…it's fine, actually." Surprisingly, Jun thinks. "Don't know why, though…"

"Maybe it has something to do with that thing." Ryuuji wouldn't be surprised. "Speaking of who, where is he?"

"Arsène!" Jun calls out to her new acquaintance. She sounds somewhat frantic, now that she actually notices he's  _missing_. "Where did you go?"

Silence…

" _Great_ …he ditched us." Ryuuji groans in annoyance, resisting the urge to face palm. "Whatever. Let's see if there's another way around—god dammit!"

All it takes is one look ahead for Ryuuji to notice the dead-end that's in front of them. He should've seen it coming…Jun sure did, because that's how bad her luck is.

"How the hell're we supposed to get outta here?!" Ryuuji swears loudly under his breath. He looks at Jun, who just shrugs. "Fuck…"

"…Hey, you there," an unknown voices calls out to them. It catches the two teenagers by surprise with how close it sounds. They look around for the source, but see nothing…so the voices calls out to them again. "Blondie! Frizzy Hair! Look over here!"

"Frizzy Hair?" Jun repeats, feeling somewhat offended. Her hair is more of an unruly mess than frizzy…

"Forget that—what is this thing?!" Ryuuji points at the diminutive, bipedal creature trapped behind bars. "A cat?!"

The cat-like creature is predominantly black in color, with a white muzzle, paws, and tail tip. It wears a yellow scarf around its neck and a utility belt on its hips. It beckons at them with a white paw, blue eyes looking cautiously at the two.

"You're not soldiers of this castle, right?!" The creature's voice is rather androgynous. "Get me out of here! Look, the key's right there!"

A white paw directs Ryuuji and Jun to a key hanging on a hook by the lock. It's just out of the creature's reach, but within theirs.

"We're trying to get the hell out of here…!" Ryuuji looks suspiciously at the creature. "I mean, you obviously look like an enemy too!"

"I'm locked up here, so how can I be your enemy?!" The creature's fur bristles. "Help me out!"

"A cat…" A light blush dusts Jun's cheeks red as she looks at the creature.

"I am NOT a cat!" the creature assertively denies. "Say that again and I'll make you regret it!"

Jun knows the creature is making a threat, but that doesn't stop her from finding it so cute.  _"Ahh…I wanna touch its paws…!"_

The sound of heavy footsteps and clattering of metal quickly catches their attention.

"They're catchin' up already…?!" Ryuuji quickly pulls out his phone from his pocket. "Shit, there's still no service. Ain't there any way to contact someone outside?!"

Jun pulls out her own phone as well to check if hers works. It doesn't.

"How the hell do we get out…?!" Ryuuji is at a loss at what to do.

The cat-like creature perks up. "Hey, you two—wanna know where the exit is? Let me out and I'll take you there. You don't want to get caught and executed, right?"

Jun sure as hell doesn't want to die…but she is also somewhat hesitant to put her trust in in the cat-like creature. "Can you really help us?"

"I never go back on my word!" the creature proudly proclaims. "Especially not towards ladies like you!"

"Didn't you just insult her hair?" Ryuuji points out. He snorts when the creature freezes still. "This thing sounds like it's all talk…"

The cat-like creature glares at Ryuuji. "If you guys think you can get out on your own, then be my guest!"

Ryuuji turns to Jun, frowning. "Whadda we do…?"

The sound of the footsteps growing closer urges Ryuuji to look at the cat-like creature. the cat-like creature looks absentmindedly at a paw, pretending not to seem so smug.

"Are you seriously not messin' with us?!" Ryuuji looks sternly at the cat-like creature.

"If you don't hurry, they'll catch you." Blue eyes shift to the side. "And I don't know about you, but Miss Cat Tights over here is a very cute lady…"

Ryuuji clenches his teeth and extends an arm in front of Jun. "Shit!"

Memories from earlier still linger strongly in the most unpleasant of ways… It makes Jun tug down at her skirt a bit. She exhales shakily and reaches out to grab the keys. "W-We got n-nothing to lose…"

"F-Fine…" Ryuuji reluctantly says.

The cat-like creature smiles widely, their blue eyes focusing on Jun as she unlocks the door. The instant the door opens, the cat-like creature scampers out. With each step they take, splashes of pink color the floor like paint. Once out in the open, they stretch out their body in a cat like manner.

" _Cute…"_  Jun thinks, her cheeks heating up with a blush.

"Ahhhh…" they sigh in content. "Freedom tastes so great…"

"Now, where's the exit, you bakeneko?!" Ryuuji looks expectantly at the cat-like creature.

The cat-like creature's fur bristles, their tail sticking up straight and eyes glaring angrily at Ryuuji. "Don't call me a cat!  _I_  am Morgana!"

The name sounds rather feminine, but it doesn't do much to confirm Morgana's possible gender—if they happen to have one at all.

"Shaddup and hurry it up!" Ryuuji growls, feeling far too impatient to tolerate any of Morgana's antics. "You wanna be locked up again?!"

"A-All right, sheesh!" Morgana frowns. They look ahead and beckon at the two teenagers with a white paw. "Follow me, and stay quiet!"

…

…

* * *

Elsewhere, at Shujin High's faculty office, Kawakami Sadayo sits at her desk. She glances at the clock hanging on the wall and sighs in frustration. "…It's fourth period already."

And a certain transfer student of hers still hasn't shown up yet… Kawakami nervously bites at her nails as she wonders about her student's whereabouts. Such a tiny girl would certainly draw attention to herself…

"Sakura-san said that Kimura-kun left the house this morning." Kawakami spits out a nail from her mouth, scowling when she realizes her mistake. She overshot it with her nasty habit of hers… "Ugh, I'm going to have to break out the fake nails."

It's bothersome, but she can't afford to slack off anymore on her appearance. She pulls open a drawer and takes out a small kit.

"Should I contact the police…?" That's something she could certainly do. "It wouldn't be that hard to find her, either…ugh. No, that'll just be more of a hassle…"

She sighs again and runs her hand through her hair. It really is disappointing to find that Jun is just a troublesome than she appears…

"Looks can be deceiving…" Kawakami had attempted to give Jun the benefit of the doubt, but now… "What did I do to deserve this…?"

She can only imagine the attention that Principal Kobayakawa will direct at her…

* * *

…

…

Morgana brings the two teenagers over to the bridge. They walk up to the statue of Kamoshida, blue eyes scanning the statue for any abnormalities.

"What're you doin'?" Ryuuji furrows his brow.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Morgana turns to Ryuuji. "I'm lowering the bridge. You—Frizzy Hair!"

Jun frowns. "It's  _not_  frizzy…"

"That's not important!" Morgana says. "You seem to pick up on things faster than Blondie over here. Try checking around the mouth of this statue, okay?"

"Uhhh…right here?" Jun looks nervously at the statue, her hand hesitantly hovering over its mouth. Even though it's just a statue, she still can't forget what the person who shares its likeness did to both her and Ryuuji.

"That's it!" Morgana nods. "Just pull down on the jaw! I know you're not too short to reach."

Jun makes a face. Why does Morgana have to be right? She clicks her tongue and pulls down on the statue's jaw. To her surprise, it moves in the direction she pulls…which causes the statue's eyes glow an eerie yellow.

"Ah!" Jun immediately removes her hand and backs away. She wipes her hand on her blazer and shudders.

"C'mon—it's just a statue…" Morgana frowns. "Don't let it get to you like that."

Jun huffs in annoyance.  _"Easier said than done…"_

"Hey—the bridge is goin' down!" Ryuuji exclaims.

"Of course it is!" Morgana grins. "The statue holds the secret to lowering the bridge, you know!"

It is just as Morgana said—the statue serves as a means of lowering the bridge through a specific technique of sorts.

"How were we supposed to know that?!" Ryuuji complains, feeling slight offense towards Morgana's comment.

"Hmph, amateur." Morgana crosses their arms over their chest. "You need to try everything before giving up. But that's enough of that—come on! Let's keep going!"

They waste no more time in crossing the bridge. Initially, the coast is clear of any knights. However, upon reaching the other side of the bridge, a knight suddenly appears in their way, having just gone through a door.

"A-Aah!" Ryuuji tries to skid to a stop, but only succeeds in falling flat on his ass when he loses his balance. "Shit…Shit, it's them!"

He is far too frazzled to get up, so he scuttles back to avoid the sword the knight brings down on him. He glances over his shoulder, wondering how Jun is doing. She's still standing, so… she's definitely doing better than he is.

" _That outfit again!"_  Ryuuji notices that Jun is back to wearing that other outfit again, with that same bird-like mask covering her face. "Whoa!"

"Tch…you amateur!" Just then, Morgana jumps over Ryuuji in a manner that reminds him of a cat. Their landing is exactly like one—deft and full of grace. "Stay still!"

Ryuuji doesn't protest—it's not like he can do much on such a short notice…

"Hey, you!" Morgana turns to Jun, taking note of her mask and outfit. "You could fight, right?"

"Uhhh…yeah…" It takes a moment for her dagger to appear in her hand. She looks over the sharp blade and quickly tightens her grip on the handle. She still remembers how to use it… _"But Arsène…"_

"Let's go!" Morgana snaps Jun out of her thoughts. They close their eyes and call out a name. "Come—Zorro!"

At their command, a tall humanoid being appears from the beam of light that expels from Morgana's body. The being's eyes snap open wide, revealing dark irises and yellow sclera. The being possesses a rather masculine appearance, with a top-heavy build and an impressive mustache. The being is dressed in a black suit that's decorated with silver embroidery on the jacket and the sides of the pants. He wears black, pointed boots with spurs, a black cape, and a black cloth mask that covers the top of his head from eye level upwards.

A closer look at Morgana shows that they, too, are wearing a similar mask that matches the being that stands behind them. It's easy to miss due to how the mask blends in with Morgana's black fur. Morgana places their paws on their hips and grins widely.

"You ready, Zorro?!" they ask the being named Zorro.

Zorro says nothing and instead uses rapier he holds in his hand to slice through the air in front of him in a Z-shaped formation. It takes three quick strokes and leaves a glow in the shape of a Z that resembles the massive belt buckle he has on his belt. It's almost as though he's trying to show off, but Morgana knows better than that.

"Excellent!" Morgana's body rumbles with a pleased purr.

"Y-You got one of those things too?!" Ryuuji stares agape at Zorro, not knowing what to make of the sight before him. It's too much for him to process in such a short amount of time.

The knight by them melts into a puddle of red slime. Within seconds, the slime quickly transforms into a floating jack-o'-lantern and a pink, demonic creature with wings protruding from its back.

Morgana crosses their arms over their chest and tilts their head to the side. "Hmph, we will promptly shut them up!"

"Uhh, Morgana—is that what I think it is?" Jun's eyes widen at the sight of the red phallic-shaped  _thing_  sticking out from between the winged demon's legs.

"Don't stare too long at it!" Morgana quickly says. "A lady shouldn't have to see such things!"

Jun shudders when the demon leers at her. It reminds her too much of Kamoshida…

" _ **Take off your mask!"**_  a voice booms in the back of her head.

" _Arsène!"_  Jun smiles widely.  _"Where are you?!"_

" _ **Within the depths of your soul—now summon me!"**_  he commands.

Jun smirks and does as she's told, no longer feeling as anxious as before. It still hurts to remove the mask on her face, but the pain is more like ripping off a bandaid. It stings a lot, but it quickly wanes with the passage of time.

A clawed finger reaches down to tap on the mask in Jun's hands.  **"Wear it if you wish—you need only to remove it once to summon me."**

Arsène is as calm as ever as he instructs Jun under such dangerous conditions. It keeps her grounded as she turns her attention back onto their opponents. She notices that Morgana has started attacking without them, using a curved sword that's almost as long as they are tall.

"A sword, huh?" Jun wonders if Zorro gave Morgana their weapon as Arsène had done with her.

"Damn Shadows…" Morgana swears when the jack-o'-lantern dodges their attack. They look over at Jun, taking quick note of Arsène. "Be careful! These Shadows have taken up intercept positions!"

"Intercept positions?" Jun repeats questioningly .

"It means they're holding nothing back and  _will_  kill us!" Morgana hastily explains. They jump back to avoid a swing from the jack-o'-lantern and land right by Jun's side. "I'll back you up, so fight like your life depends on it!"

Jun nods her head. "Got it—Arsène, protect Sakamoto!"

Ryuuji chokes back a scream when Jun's acquaintance suddenly pops up in front of him. It's just in time, because Arsène manages to intercept the winged demon during its attempt to attack Ryuuji.

"Shit!" Ryuuji gulps audibly.

The winged demon laughs menacingly before evading a rapier's needle-like blade. Arsène turns his head to Zorro, who does not seem flustered at all despite missing his attack. The two stare at each other for a moment and the nod their heads simultaneously in agreement.

Ryuuji can only stare as Arsène and Zorro take up a protective stance in front of him.  _"Just what the hell is goin' on?!"_

Back with Jun and Morgana, the two have taken to working together to take down the jack-o'-lantern. Jun's dagger slices through the jack-o'-lantern's face, causing some serious damage. It's not enough to fully incapacitate it, but it's enough to slow down its movements. Despite this, Morgana still laughs at how inexperienced Jun is.

"Hmph, I knew you were an amateur!" Morgana hops side to side with an amused cat-like smile on their face. " _This_  is how you fight!"

All too suddenly, Zorro stiffens in place, his gaze now focused on Morgana. He still maintains his position alongside Arsène, though he waits patiently for an order from them.

"Zorro, show your might!" Morgana calls out to him.

Zorro silently nods his head and slices through the air in a Z-shaped formation. Within seconds, a burst of green-colored wind strikes the jack-o'-lantern down. The damage is far too much for it, causing it to dissolve out of existence seconds after a futile attempt to get up.

"Strike at an enemy's weakness to take them out!" Morgana carefully explains. "It'll knock them down if they manage to survive the attack. So use that as an opening to strike again and finish the job!"

"So it's weak to wind?" Jun asks Morgana.

"It's called Garu, but I have a feeling that element is out of your grasp…" Morgana can sense an almost cursed power residing within Jun. Their ears twitch at that moment and Morgana spins around to swing their sword at the winged demon as it lunges towards Jun. "You're next too, you bedside brute!"

Jun is not even sure she wants to know the reasoning behind Morgana's impromptu nicknaming of the creature. She discards all thought when she flips back to evade the winged demon as it reaches out for her. It had successfully moved around Morgana's attack, avoiding their sword's blade. It laughs deviously at Jun's attempts to avoid it, its laughter only continuing when it dodges another of Morgana's attacks.

"Leave her alone!" Morgana hisses, teeth bared at the winged demon. "Damn, so this is the effect this place can have on Shadows…"

Jun has no clue what Morgana means by that, but she sure doesn't like the attention that thing is giving her. She scowls and lowers the dagger, waiting patiently for the demon's next action. It lunges for her again with open arms. This time, she doesn't move out of the way and allows the demon to wrap its gaunt arms around her.

"Don't touch me!" she yells as she plunges her dagger into the demon's stomach. It releases her instantaneously, coughing and sputtering as it backed away from her. "Eiha!"

Arsène's mask gleams eerily as a red energy blasts the demon into a wall. It gasps and coughs a few more times before going still and dissolving into nothing. Jun walks over to where the demon once was and spits in disgust.

"That'll teach you to touch me…" She feels uncomfortable from the unwanted touch and takes a moment to adjust her gloves. She's still tense as ever when Arsène's clawed fingers carefully play with her hair. Eventually, she calms under his gentle touch—which is anything but unwanted.

Morgana laughs at the sight. "And you called me a cat!"

Jun shrugs off Morgana's comment. It doesn't bother her like it does with them. She lets out a puff of air from her mouth and makes her way over to Ryuuji.

Ryuuji struggles to get up, finding it difficult to stand with his tired legs. He pauses when he sees Jun offering her hand out to him. He stares at it before sighing in defeat and reaching out to grab her hand. It is at that exact moment that Jun's clothes revert back to her school uniform.

Not long after, Arsène takes his leave and disappears in a burst of blue flames. Zorro soon does the same, deciding he's done enough for now. Though, before he disappears, he turns to Jun and Ryuuji. He holds up his rapier and light begins to emanate from Ryuuji's body.

"What the—?!" Ryuuji's eyes widen.

"Relax—it's just Dia," Morgana explains. "I thought you might need some healing, so I had Zorro do his thing."

As soon as the light fades from his body, Jun helps Ryuuji stand up. It surprises him with how steady his legs are, exhaustion no longer hindering his movements. Slowly, it comes to his attention that it longer pains him when he breathes. He applies a small amount of pressure to his sides with his hands and is left speechless at the absence of pain.

"H-How?!" Ryuuji sputters.

"I told you—it's Dia," Morgana simply says. "Good work, Zorro."

Zorro nods his head only once before disappearing in a manner similar as Arsène. Morgana grins widely in satisfaction upon noticing how much stronger they feel from the fight. It's subtle, but there—and they're quite certain they're not the only one who feels the same.

Morgana looks at Jun and quickly takes note of her attire. "Hm, it looks like you don't have full control over your power yet. The transformation shouldn't normally wear off like that."

"Excuse me?" Jun tilts her head to the side.

"That aside, your Persona is quite powerful!" Morgana continues speaking as though they haven't noticed the look of confusion on Jun's face.

"Persona…?" Ryuuji is just as confused as Jun now that he manages to catch only a blurb of what Morgana just said. His attention span has never been the best and the less said about his impulsivity, the better. "Is that what you call that thing that comes outta you all dramatic-like?"

"More or less—though I'd say Frizzy Hair's is more of a show-off than Zorro." Morgana laughs.

Jun snorts upon hearing Morgana's comment. They're not wrong—Arsène  _does_  like to show off…from what she's seen of him so far. Now that she thinks about it, that's not exactly the type of behavior a gentleman should display…  _"How funny…"_

" _ **Well you're not much of a lady, despite the moniker you've been affectionately given by your close associates."**_ Apparently, Arsène can be quite sassy when he wants to be.  _ **"Two can play at that game if that's how you wish to do it."**_

" _Duly noted."_ A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Jun's face. This…might take some time for her to adjust.

"Anyways, you saw how she ripped off her mask when she summoned it, right?" Morgana figures they can take the time to explain it to these two. "Here's the thing—everybody wears a mask deep within their heart. By removing that—"

"You can summon a thing like Kimura did, right?" Ryuuji interrupts.

Morgana glares at Ryuuji. "Are you always this impatient, Blondie?!"

"My name's  _Ryuuji_ , not Blondie!" Ryuuji's face contorts into a scowl.

"I think…we should leave." Jun doesn't like how loud Ryuuji and Morgana are while they're out in the open like this. "Let's talk about this later after we get out of here."

Morgana blinks and nods their head. "That's right! It's not much farther to the exit. If you get hurt, tell me so I can have Zorro heal you. There's a chance we'll have to fight again before we get to the exit. You got that?"

Ryuuji scratches the back of his hair. "Got it…"

"So…" Jun adjusts her glasses. "Lead the way, Morgana."

…

…

They manage to avoid any unnecessary confrontations, much to Jun's relief. She's not sure if she can handle another fight if it means going up against another winged demon…

"Hold on a sec!" Ryuuji suddenly exclaims. He stops in front of a cell, having noticed something about the prisoner inside the jail cell. The prisoner is slumped against the floor, struggling to find the strength to get up. "I feel like I've seen what this dude's wearing before…"

"Really?" Jun looks questioningly at Ryuuji. She stands in front of another statue of Kamoshida. It's a lot like the one they've come across earlier and it's even by a bridge as well. It's still just as unnerving, too…

"Dammit!" Ryuuji swears loudly, resisting the urge he has to kick something. "I'm too flustered! I can't remember a damn thing!"

Morgana growls. "Come on, let's go! We can't stick around any longer!"

"Hold on, dammit!" Ryuuji feels reluctant to move away from the cell.

"What is it?" Morgana narrows their eyes. "We need to go, fast!"

"But…who are these guys?" Ryuuji frowns as he looks at the prisoner. He can't help but think about the others they've left behind.

"Do you really think you have time to worry about other people right now?!" Morgana's fur bristles. "Besides, they're—"

" **There!"** a voice calls out.

"Shit—we're busted!" Jun looks nervously at the bridge as it goes down. On the other side, is a knight who starts running towards them the instant the bridge is set in place. "Ahh!"

Morgana makes a face. "You should've listened to me…!"

" _ **Will you cower or fight?"**_ Arsène's voice manages to help Jun stay calm, allowing her think clearly about the situation before her.

"Let's fight," she says, her mask and other outfit appearing on her person in a burst of blue flames.

Morgana laughs as they take out their sword. "I'm glad you stick to your guns."

The knight changes forms, like all the others before it. It's new form is that of a brown-haired girl not much older than Jun. She is rather diminutive in size, clad in only a blue leotard that she wears with thigh high stockings and arm-length gloves of the same color. She hovers in place like a hummingbird, with delicate wings flapping furiously from her back. She giggles when an identical girl joins her side from the leftover red slime.

Morgana's fur bristles, a loud hiss managing to escape from their mouth. "Careful—I've gone up against these types before! These beguiling girls might be pretty, but they can zap you if you're not careful!"

Jun feels as though Morgana is talking from experience. She says nothing and decides to rip off her mask to summon Arsène. He appears right behind her and laughs at the sight of their diminutive opponents.

"Something you find funny?" Jun asks Arsène as she adjusts a glove.

Arsène's laughter only grows louder.  **"They think they're a threat."**

" **Excuse you!"** one of the girls scoffs. She places a hand on her hip and snaps her fingers. A bolt of lightning strikes Morgana down within seconds. A pained meow leaves their mouth—it's a sound that makes the girl laugh disturbingly in glee.

"Morgana!" Jun shrieks, nearly dropping her dagger in shock.

" **You were saying?"** The other girl smirks deviously.

Jun's face contorts into a scowl as she snaps her fingers. Arsène reacts immediately to her wordless order and tips his hat. Red energy engulfs the laughing girl, her laughter quickly turning into loud shrieks of pain. There is nothing left of her after the red energy fades out of sight.

The girl that remains is no longer smirking, her expression now one of horror. Her mouth opens and closes, but no words come out—she is far too alarmed over her companion's demise to speak.

" _Or defend herself."_ A menacing smile forms on Jun's lips as she stares at her horror-stricken opponent. Arsène laughs at the implications from Jun's thoughts. He understands it well and finds it amusing that Jun can be quite vindictive given the chance.

Arsène is all too eager to cast Eiha again when Jun orders him to use it. And just like that, the fight is over as quickly as it began. Jun remains alert for a few more seconds before going over to Morgana's side to help them.

Ryuuji is there with Morgana, struggling to even touch them without getting a nasty shock from the electricity crackling visibly on their fur. Morgana clenches their teeth as they struggle to stand up.

"Are you okay?" Jun asks Morgana, her clothes reverting back now that the immediate danger has passed.

Morgana nods their head. "Y-Yeah…it'll pass. I don't do well against Zio…us Persona users are just as susceptible to our weaknesses as Shadows are."

"I see…" Jun doesn't like the sound of that.  _"I guess I should be more careful now…"_

She runs her fingers through her hair, taking a moment to ease some of her nerves by playing with a lock of her hair. She watches Ryuuji as he removes his blazer, which he uses to wrap around Morgana like some sort of blanket. He then lifts Morgana off the floor and grins widely as he says, "Problem solved!"

 _Somehow_ , Ryuuji's blazer proves to be an effective shield against the crackling electricity clinging to Morgana's fur. Jun's not sure if that's even possible, but Ryuuji seems fine as is making it work anyways. Morgana, on the other hand…

"Hey—what are you doing?!" Morgana hisses loudly at Ryuuji and bares their teeth at him. They do not appreciate Ryuuji's actions whatsoever, as helpful as they are meant to be. "Put me down!"

"Not while you're like this!" Ryuuji scowls. "Now stop complainin' and tell us where to go!"

Even though Ryuuji doesn't want to leave those prisoners behind, he knows better than to press his luck when they're one fighter short. He throws one last look at the teenaged boy behind bars and makes a mental note to come back for him and the others later. He looks ahead at the bridge in front of them and beckons at Jun to follow him. The two then make their way across the bridge, ignoring Morgana as they demand to be released.

It is only when the electricity fades from their body that Ryuuji releases Morgana. He pays no attention to them as he shakes out his blazer, effectively ignoring their death glare in his attempts to rid his blazer of any wrinkles (and cat hair, if there's any—just to be safe). Morgana growls loudly, stopping only when they catch themself. They clear their throat and pretend that didn't happen, even though Jun heard them loudly and clearly.

" _So cute!"_  she thinks as she watches Morgana's tail flick left to right in annoyance. She finds it adorable, because of how they insist that they are not a cat and yet, their cat-like behavior says otherwise.

"The entrance hall is right up these stairs!" Despite how uncooperative they were with giving any directions when Ryuuji was carrying them, Morgana had kept a close eye on where they were heading. Morgana was prepared to say something the instant they noticed something was off, but Ryuuji and Jun ended up going in the right direction anyways without their help.  _"Not like they needed it anyways…"_

Morgana did most of the work already by taking them this far. There aren't many places to go but the entrance hall after crossing the bridge. Of course, it's not something that Jun and Ryuuji would know, and knowing the latter…it was better to take precautions.

…

…

The entrance hall is completely empty, much to Morgana's relief. They weren't too sure about what to expect, considering their experience with some of the Shadows in this place. It's a lesson learned that Morgana won't be forgetting anytime soon. They hold out their paw and tell Ryuuji and Jun to wait.

Even though the entrance hall is empty, Morgana doesn't feel like taking any chances. So they listen carefully for the sounds of heavy footsteps and clattering metal. When their ears fail to pick up the telltale sounds of roaming knights, Morgana gives the order to keep moving forward.

Morgana leads the way, thinking it as an easy feat to accomplish…until Ryuuji and Jun stop to pick up their discarded schoolbags on the floor. "What're you doing?!"

"Calm down!" Ryuuji says as he checks the schoolbag in his hands. He notices that none of the contents are his (they're too  _new_  to be his), so he holds the schoolbag in front of Jun's face. "This is yours."

"Oh…thank you." Jun switches out the schoolbag in Ryuuji's hand for the one she picked off the floor. "I guess this one's yours, then."

Ryuuji accepts the schoolbag without saying another word and takes to wearing his schoolbag like a backpack. Afterwards, he dashes over to Morgana, with Jun trailing after him. Morgana waits for them on the other side of the entrance hall rather impatiently, with their arms crossed over their chest and blue eyes narrowed in anger.

"What was  _that_  about?" Morgana asks them almost accusingly.

"Lay off, dude!" Ryuuji snaps. "You have any idea how much this stuff'd cost to replace?! Like hell I'm just gonna leave this behind!"

Jun nods her head in agreement. "Besides, the coast is clear."

Morgana huffs. "Yeah, but for how long?"

"Long enough, from the looks of it," Jun simply replies.

Morgana resists the urge to growl and turns around. "Never mind…let's just get going now that we're here."

"For real?!" Ryuuji grins widely. "Finally!"

He runs over to a door on their right and tries to open it…only to find that it's locked up tight. He pushes and pulls to no avail—the door won't budge.

"It's not openin'!" A look of panic crosses his face as he turns to Jun and Morgana. Panic quickly turns to anger when he recalls what Morgana told them, so he scowls at them. "D'you trick is, you jerk?!"

Morgana only smiles. "Don't jump to conclusions! It's over here!"

Morgana spins around and charges though the second door on their left. Unlike the door Ryuuji had tried opening, the door Morgana goes through isn't locked and swings open with ease.

"H-Hey, wait up!" Ryuuji exclaims as he follows after Morgana.

Jun stays behind in the hallway and stares at the open door before her. She adjusts her glasses and then sighs loudly, feeling somewhat exhausted. She'd prefer it if Morgana and Ryuuji got along better than this, but that might be asking for too much in such a short amount of time. She supposes it could be worse.

" _We're almost out of here…"_ She's thankful for that at the least. She flips her hair over her shoulder and walks through the door to join up with Morgana and Ryuuji.

The door leads into a room without any windows. There are bookshelves lined up against the wall, filled with a random assortment of books that Jun feels no need to investigate. She's curious, yes, but not  _that_  curious.

"Where are we supposed to get out from here?!" Ryuuji glares at Morgana. "There aren't even any windows!"

Morgana frowns. "Ugh, amateur… This is the most basic of basics."

"You mean a ventilation shaft?" Jun backs away to get a good look at the ventilation shaft above one of the bookshelves. Her thoughts immediately go to some of the movies she's seen where people had to sneak through the vents.

Morgana jumps into the air with glee, smiling widely in satisfaction from Jun's response. "That's right! As I thought, you're a natural at this. It leads all the way outside."

Ryuuji turns his attention to the ventilation shaft. He almost missed it… "I see… Then we just gotta get that metallic mesh off!"

Being the tallest of the three, Ryuuji feels that this is a job best suited for him. Except Jun feels otherwise when she charges ahead without any warning. Ryuuji's jaw slackens in awe as he watches Jun climb up the bookshelf with such ease. She reaches the top within seconds and quickly gets to work in removing the metallic mesh covering the ventilation shaft.

"You okay?" Ryuuji asks, growing concerned with each passing second the longer he watches Jun struggle. He's worried she might pull a muscle or something. "Try not to hurt yourself!"

"I'm…fine!" Jun says through clenched teeth. She can do this—she knows she can! "Almost…got it—whoa!"

The metallic mesh gives out after one particularly forceful tug. It catches Jun completely by surprise, causing her to stumble back with the metallic mesh still in her hands. The weight and size of the mesh is too much for her to maintain her balance at her current disadvantage. It's really only a matter of time before she ends up falling off the bookshelf.

"Kimura!" Ryuuji screams as he dashes over to Jun. He holds out his arms and catches her in midair. He bites back a yelp and winces when his right leg throbs painfully under the sudden strain of her weight. "Oww…!"

His eyes go wide when he watches the metallic mesh crash onto the floor in front of them. He feels Jun tense up in his arms, no doubt from how  _close_  that was.

"Ahhh…!" Jun can feel her heart pounding within her chest.  _"That almost fell on us…"_

"You okay?" Ryuuji asks her again.

An incoherent string of words leaves Jun's mouth when she opens it. She is far too frazzled to say anything right now.

"I'll take that as a yes…" Ryuuji isn't going to push it. "Crap! The enemy didn't hear us, did they?"

Morgana frowns at Ryuuji. "Really?  _Now_  you decide to ask that after making all that noise?"

Ryuuji sputters from realizing that Morgana is right (as reluctant as he is to admit it).

"Forget about it—the shaft is open now, so you two should get going!" Morgana urges them to leave.

Ryuuji looks at Morgana. "But what about you?"

Morgana shakes their head. "There's something that I still have to do. We're going our separate ways."

"Don't get caught again," Jun finally speaks.

Morgana laughs at Jun's comment. "Heh, you better be careful too."

"No shit…" Ryuuji exhales shakily as he sets Jun down. "That was seriously too close…"

Jun laughs awkwardly while she smooths down her skirt. "Sorry…"

Ryuuji taps on his right thigh a few times after turning to face the bookshelf. He grits his teeth and starts climbing up the shelf. He takes to ignoring the pain that he feels in his leg. It really isn't that far up…and yet, that doesn't stop him from nearly losing his footing when his leg decides to give out on him. The pain is unbearable, causing tears to spring to his eyes.

"Shit!" he gasps out.

"Need a hand?" Jun asks him as she extends her hand towards him.

He blinks a few times, somewhat surprised to see Jun already at the top of the bookshelf before him. "When did you—?!"

"Just now," she says with a smile. "If I can do it once, I can do it again! So do you need any help?"

"Hell no—I'm too heavy for you!" Ryuuji would rather take his chances than drag Jun down with him, should he fall.

Jun stares at Ryuuji for a moment and sighs. "Suit yourself, I guess…"

Knowing her luck, it's better this way. That doesn't make her feel any less guilty when she watches Ryuuji force himself up the bookshelf, despite the pain in his right leg. She twirls a lock of her hair around her finger and then waves at Morgana before going through the ventilation shaft.

"See ya!" Morgana waves back. They watch Ryuuji follow Jun into the ventilation shaft, his voice immediately echoing out to complain that Jun shouldn't have gone first.

"Why not?" she asks.

"Because I don't wanna see your striped panties!" Ryuuji blurts out. He regrets that he knows about that from Kamoshida, especially since just the mere thought of that shithead brings back bad memories. "Not that I can see them—because I can't, but  _still_!"

"Shit—is my skirt long enough?!" Jun's face heats up with a blush. "I'm sorry!"

"I should be the one sayin' that, not you!" Ryuuji can't believe that this is even happening.

Morgana can't help but laugh at the banter between the two teenagers. It doesn't last though, since the two eventually go out of earshot.

"Those two seem useful…" Morgana crosses their arms over their chest. "Especially that frizzy-haired one, if my judgement's right…"

Looks can certainly be deceiving and Morgana is pleased to see that is the case for the glasses-wearing girl with unruly hair.

…

…

The second Jun and Ryuuji get out, they keep running and running, never once looking back. They stop only to catch their breath, their legs having taken them as far as they physically can. Ryuuji gasps for air, barely acknowledging Jun as she leans against him for support. He can tell there's much more to her than just exhaustion from the way her body is shaking, so he refrains from making any comments.

" _ **You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."**_ The navigation voice from Jun's phone is loud and clear, much to her complete confusion when she pulls out her phone.

"Huh? Returned…?" Ryuuji is just as confused. "Does that mean we got away?"

"Probably." Jun sighs as she slips her phone back into her pocket.

Ryuuji runs his hand through his hair. "I dunno what to think anymore… What was all that anyways…? That castle, and Kamoshida, and that weird cat!"

Jun snorts. "Not a cat."

"Ahaha, right…" Ryuuji laughs weakly. The joke eases his nerves somewhat, but not enough to matter. "Ugh…just what the hell's goin' on?!"

"What's with the yelling?" The two teenagers freeze still as an aggressive-looking police officer approaches them. Another officer—one that appears quite timid in comparison—follows after him on a bicycle, stopping on when he's reached them. "Are you students of Shujin? Cutting classes, are we?"

"Huh? No!" Ryuuji frowns. "We were tryin' to get to school, and we ended up at this weird castle!"

Jun tugs on Ryuuji's sleeve. "Sakamoto, don't say that!"

Ryuuji furrows his brow. "Why not?"

Before Jun can say anything, the aggressive police officer tells Ryuuji to hand over his bag. "You better not be doing any drugs."

"Why would you think that?!" Ryuuji can't believe the nerve of that officer. He brushes Jun's hand off of his arm when she continues tugging on his sleeve. "You're gonna mess up my blazer if you keep that up."

Jun resists the urge she has to groan. Ryuuji is just so clueless when it comes to interacting with the police like this.

"Are you his friend?" The timid police officer looks over Jun, taking note of her school uniform. For a second, he almost mistook her for a grade-schooler…

"Something like that," Jun replies, hoping that she isn't sounding too forward.

"Then you should go to school," the timid police officer tells her. "Take him with you."

"Umm…give me a sec." Jun pulls out her phone and opens up her map.

Upon noticing the strange looks the officers are giving Jun, Ryuuji says, "She's a transfer student—it's her first day."

"Then take her there," the aggressive officer tells Ryuuji.

Ryuuji scowls. "I'm not going anywhere near Shujin when it's like that!"

The aggressive officer's eye twitches slightly. "We passed Shujin on our way here. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it. If you spout any more nonsense, I'll contact your school. Is that what you want?"

Ryuuji grits his teeth. He looks down at Jun, who's still looking at her phone. "C'mon, say somethin'!"

She tugs on his sleeve one last time and lets go before pocketing her phone. "I don't want to be late, so let's go."

Ryuuji frowns. "Uh, that's not what I meant…w-wait a sec! Don't leave me behind!"

…

…

While initially hesitant to go back to Shujin High, Ryuuji relents, if only to keep Jun from getting lost. She's still new to the area and he'd rather not lose sight of her so quickly. After all, she's the only one who understands what went on back there…

"Is this for real…?" Of course, a new problem arises when it comes to their attention that Shujin High looks exactly like it should be and not some strange castle. This…is not what Ryuuji was expecting. "I'm sure we came the same way… What's goin' on here…?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you." A stern-looking man dressed in a suit walks down the steps towards them.

"Aw crap, it's the counselor…" Ryuuji swears under his breath.

The counselor looks at them in disapproval, his arms crossed over his chest. "We received a call from the police."

" _Of course they ratted us out…"_ Jun's not even that surprised.

Ryuuji, on the other hand, lets his annoyance get the best of himself. "That damn cop snitched on us after all!"

"It's rare not to see you alone," the counselor remarks, taking note of how close Jun is to Ryuuji's side. "Did you get a new girlfriend over break that you decided to take out on a date? Is that why you're both late?"

Ryuuji sputters. "We're  _not_  dating!"

"Then where were you roaming around until this time?" The counselor looks expectantly at Ryuuji for an answer.

"Uhh…a ca—a castle?" Ryuuji furrows his brow as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Is that your way of saying you were at one of those love hotels?" The counselor wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, considering the transfer student's compensated dating record.

"Not  _that_  type of castle!" Ryuuji's face burns red as he deliberately avoids making any eye contact with Jun.

"What's this about a 'castle'?" A familiar voice makes Jun's blood run cold as she quickly hides behind Ryuuji. The action catches him by surprise at first until he sees a very familiar face he'd rather wipe away from his memory.

"Kamoshida?!" Ryuuji extends his arm over Jun almost instinctively as a protective gesture.

"You seem so carefree, Sakamoto," Kamoshida says with an amused smile on his face. "Quite a difference from when you did morning practice for the track team."

"Shaddup!" Ryuuji growls, his sharp teeth bared at Kamoshida. "It's your fault that—"

"How dare you speak that way to Kamoshida-sensei!" the counselor cuts Ryuuji off. "…There's not much leeway left for you, you know?"

"He's the one that provoked me!" Ryuuji adamantly protests.

"Do you really want to be expelled?!" the counselor threatens Ryuuji. "In any case, you'll have to explain yourself! Follow me!"

"What?!" Ryuuji's face contorts into a scowl. "This is bull—huh?"

Ryuuji trails off when he notices that Jun is trembling again. He must've scared her again with his yelling… He mutters a quick apology and pats her on the head a few times before glaring at Kamoshida and the counselor.

"Come now." A wide smile crosses Kamoshida's face. "I should have been more considerate, too. Let's just say that we were both to blame."

"Well, if you say so…" The counselor decides to back off for now…in regards to that situation at least. "Still, you're coming with me. It's undeniable that you're extremely late."

Ryuuji hesitates at first, but then sighs in defeat. "Fine…"

"By the way…you're that new transfer student, correct?" Kamoshida almost didn't notice Jun standing behind Ryuuji. "Kimura Jun…"

Jun peers out from behind Ryuuji and reluctantly nods her head.

"Come on, Sakamoto!" the counselor calls out to Ryuuji.

Ryuuji grits his teeth. He'd rather not leave Jun's side while Kamoshida is around, but it seems he has no choice… "Sorry, Kimura…"

"It's okay," she quietly says as he leaves her side to follow after the counselor.

With Jun no longer hiding behind Ryuuji, Kamoshida gets a good look of her, though not before Ryuuji gets in his face for a moment and tells him not to try anything funny. Kamoshida scoffs, deciding to shrug off Ryuuji's comment. He turns his attention back to Jun, his eyes widening when he noticed something oddly familiar about her.

"…Have we met somewhere?" he asks.

"I saw a girl in your car." Jun hopes nothing bad happened to Ann…

Kamoshida scratches his head. "That's right… I remember now."

He didn't actually think that the girl who turned down a ride from him was actually the transfer student.

" _So that's what Kawakami meant…"_ Kawakami certainly made her point when she said she wasn't expecting a student like Jun—because neither was Kamoshida. He guesses that compensated dating attracts all types of participants, especially those with niche interests in cutesy cat tights and glasses… "…Well, I'll overlook this just for today. I'm sure you've heard from the principal, but cause any trouble and you'll be expelled. Understand?"

Jun holds her schoolbag closer to herself. "I understand."

"At any rate, hurry up and go to the faculty office," Kamoshida says. "I'm sure Kawakami-sensei's tired of waiting."

_Growl._

"Though I suppose she won't mind if you take a small detour to the student store to buy something to eat." Kamoshida laughs, finding it funny how such a loud sound can come from someone so tiny. "Good luck trying to enjoy your new school life!"

Jun says nothing and waits for Kamoshida to leave before making her way into the school. She refuses to buy anything from the student store, taking to ignoring her stomach's growling.

" _Gotta…go to the faculty office."_  She exhales shakily and lifts up her glasses to rub at her eyes. She didn't think she'd feel so frazzled by just seeing Kamoshida…she shakes her head and discards any thought regarding that man.  _"Where is the faculty office anyways?"_

Jun frowns when she realizes that she has no clue. She looks left to right at the hallway, taking note of the students standing about in various places. She wonders quite briefly if she should ask for directions before walking off on her own into the left side of the hallway. She takes to ignoring any student that comes her way. A few times, she hears some male students jokingly meowing at her because of her tights.

" _Dammit…"_ This is why Jun didn't want to wear these tights with her school uniform…especially since it's her first day of school. It could be worse…  _"Actually, it_ _ **is**_ _worse."_

She has no idea where the freaking faculty office is and she isn't in any state to stop and ask for directions. Not only that, her stomach won't stop growling and there's nothing but third-year classrooms on this floor.

" _I don't think it's on this floor…"_ Jun stands by the entrance to the practice building. She doubts she'll find the faculty office there, since she's sure it's located in the main building.  _"I guess it's time to move onto the second floor."_

Except when she turns around to make her way over to the stairs, she finds that there's a female student with short, fluffy hair standing in her way. The female student stands at height taller than Jun and wears a short-sleeved pink turtleneck cardigan with her uniform instead of a black blazer. She also wears white tights with a black flower pattern and black Mary Jane shoes. She is rather a pretty girl with a dazzling smile that turns Jun into a stammering mess.

The fluffy-haired girl can't help but laugh at Jun's reaction. It's such a pleasant sound that it makes Jun's face heat up with a blush.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The fluffy-haired girl's brown eyes go wide. "I didn't mean to make fun of your or anything! I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that!"

Her voice is so soft and gentle that it puts Jun at ease. Jun tries to say something, but a particularly loud growl from her stomach cuts her off. Her face turns a vivid shade of red as she looks down at her shoes.

"S-Sorry…" she quietly says. "I…haven't eaten yet."

The fluffy-haired girl smiles warmly at Jun. "I've noticed—that's why I wanted to ask if you'd like to have lunch with me! A good senpai always helps out a kouhai in need!"

The fluffy-haired girl holds up a rather elegant-looking box with intricate designs. It's mainly white in color with gold, lace-like prints. Jun supposes that's where she stores her lunch and while it is a nice offer, Jun feels that she should clear up any misconceptions that girl might have about her.

"…I'm a second-year," Jun shyly remarks.

The fluffy-haired girl giggles again. "I know—I saw your pin! I'm a third-year, you know!"

"Ahh…" Jun nods her head.  _"That makes sense…the third-year classrooms_ _ **are**_ _on this floor…"_

"By the way, I really like your tights!" The fluffy-haired girl's smile only widens. "Where did you get them?"

"I…didn't get them." While Jun  _did_  put in a request for them when her Uncle Shiba last went to Tokyo, she wasn't the one who purchased them. "But I think you can probably find them in Harajuku."

"Ahh, I see!" The fluffy-haired girl nods her head. "I'll certainly take a look when I can. Umm…so is that a yes or a no?"

_Growl._

Jun averts her gaze. "I have to head to the faculty office—do you know where that is?"

"Yeah, it's on the second floor where the second-year classrooms are!" The fluffy-haired girl frowns. "I don't mean to pry, but…is something wrong?"

"I'm kinda in trouble for being late on my first day of school…" Jun smiles awkwardly as a small bead of sweat rolls down the side of her face.

"Oh no…" The fluffy-haired girl furrows her brow. She tilts her head to the side in thought, her rosy lips soon forming into an innocent smile. "Well…I'm sure it won't make a difference if you take just a  _bit_  more time to get to the faculty office."

Jun blinks. "Huh?"

"It isn't healthy to skip meals," the fluffy-haired girl simply says. "So please take a moment to get some food into your stomach—I'll take full responsibility if you get in trouble. After all, I'm the one who's insisting that you should eat with me. With that said, won't you have lunch with me?"

Jun stares at the fluffy-haired girl for a moment. She then sighs and shakes her head. "If you say so…Senpai."

"Oh, there's no need for that!" The fluffy-haired girl laughs. "My name is Okumura Haru—call me Haru! It's very nice too meet you!"

Jun blinks once and then smiles. "I'm Kimura Jun."

A light blush dusts Haru's cheeks pink. "You have such a cute smile, Jun-chan! I hope you like sandwiches, because that's all I have!"

Jun only laughs and nods her head. She sees no reason to decline, especially since she isn't taking Kamoshida's advice to buy something from the student store…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suffered for this chapter. I'm being serious when I say that apart from the first page of this ?chapter, everything was written on a Google doc using my tablet (AND MY THUMBS). I highly appreciate it if you guys tell me what you think of this chapter and  _do_  tell me if I'd made any mistakes. Autocorrect is on my ass and Google docs doesn't keep track of my mistakes like Microsoft word.
> 
> ANYWAYS, HAVE AN EARLY HARU APPEARANCE! Anyone who's been keeping up with me should know that I planned on having Haru show up earlier in this fic. That being said, I wasn't planning on it being  _this_ early, like holy shit!
> 
> Anyways, Ryuuji is very protective of Jun, especially when it comes to Kamoshida. That's gonna be a thing, so get used to it. And by the by, Morgana's gender is  _supposed_  to be ambiguous at this point, according to the Japanese version of the game, so yeah I'm keeping with that because I want to.
> 
> Also the term used to refer to Morgana is bakeneko, which translates into changed cat. It's a type of yōkai, which is likely why they use monster cat in the localization.
> 
> Also this is the point where Jun's compensated dating rumor is rearing its head against her. And just so you know, I was trying to be funny with the love hotel comment, but then I looked it up and found out that the Meguro Emperor love hotel is like less than twenty-five minutes away from Aoyama-Itchome. And the thing about the Meguro Emperor is that it is a well-known love hotel in Tokyo with the appearance of a  _castle_. Of course, I'm sure there are more castle-themed love hotels in Tokyo, but I'm just saying… _yeah_. Ahaha, when your jokes actually have some support to them, lmao.
> 
> Thank you guys so much for taking the time to leave a comment! I appreciate it, since it really does motivate me to keep writing. And remember, it's more of a hassle to work on any fic now because I'm stuck using my tablet. So please be gentle and don't rush me for any updates. I crave validation so much, so don't be too scared to say anything!
> 
> That's about it for now, so I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Until next time everyone!


	5. Shujin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is  _also_  brought to you by a lack of a functioning laptop, lack of Microsoft word, the annoyance that is autocorrect, my two tablets that I bought for the sake of playing KHUX, Google docs, and my PS4's YouTube app!
> 
> I'm seriously not kidding around when I say I wrote this entire chapter using only my thumbs. Again, I went through hell writing this chapter, because fucking autocorrect won't get off my ass and this touch screen keyboard is VERY annoying at times.
> 
> Please appreciate the effort that I put in for this chapter… Other that, read on!
> 
> Also, do be warned—this chapter is where Jun's compensating dating rumor rears its head quite nastily, so do watch out for some unsavory comments. (Credit goes to  **kurobook**  for helping me out with that)

" _What's taking her so long?!"_  Kawakami taps her fingers impatiently on her desk. Lunchtime is nearly over and the transfer student has yet to show up, even though she's been told that she had arrived.  _"Is she avoiding me?"_

Kawakami wouldn't be surprised, considering the trouble that Kimura Jun is in for being so late on her first day of school. She sighs loudly in exasperation and takes a moment to look over her nails. She's managed to do a decent job applying the fake nails, though a part of her still worries that it isn't enough.

" _Whatever…"_ She runs her fingers through her messy hair.

"Umm…excuse me!" a soft voice calls out.

Kawakami turns her attention to the faculty office entrance. Standing in the middle of the opened doorway is a fluffy-haired girl with light, auburn hair and brown eyes. Kawakami instantly straightens her back and smooths down her shirt. "Okumura-san! What brings you here?"

Haru smiles nervously as she clasps her hands over her chest. "Umm…I'd like to apologize for causing you any inconveniences, but I couldn't let her go to you on an empty stomach!"

"Her?" Kawakami arches her brow.

Haru laughs as she moves to the side to show that Jun was standing right behind her this entire time. Kawakami's eyes widen as she nearly stands up from her seat.

"Kimura-kun!" Kawakami can't believe her luck. "Wait…you were with Okumura-san just now?"

Jun nervously averts her gaze as she plays with a lock of her hair. "I got lost and she offered me food."

"It's why she didn't show up immediately to the faculty office," Haru explains. "Again, I apologize. I take full responsibility for this."

"N-No—it's fine!" Kawakami quickly says. "What matters is that she showed up, so you can go now."

"Very well!" Haru smiles at Jun. "I'll see you around, Jun-chan—I hope the rest of your day goes well."

Haru takes her leave after that, making sure to give Jun a gentle nudge into the faculty office before closing the door behind her. Jun fidgets nervously in her spot now that Kawakami's eyes are on her.

"Come here," she firmly says. She keeps a close eye on Jun as she hesitantly walks over to her desk. "You're unbelievable, you know that? Half a day late on your first day…care to explain yourself?"

"I was in a castle." The words leave Jun's mouth before she can even think twice about it.

Kawakami looks sternly at Jun. "You can't be serious…"

Jun nervously plays with a lock of her hair. She's at a loss for words…

"Will you pull yourself together?" Kawakami's tone is harsh and admonishing. "You were given fair warning yesterday. More importantly…I heard that you were caught along with that Sakamoto-kun?"

Jun furrows her brow. "'That' Sakamoto…?"

Kawakami sighs and shakes her head. "Don't get involved with him, okay? He's nothing but trouble. You're better off taking your chances with a third-year like Okumura-san…does she know?"

Jun bites her lip and says nothing.

"Look, I know it's going to be hard making friends, but you're new here—no one knows much about you, so take advantage of that." Kawakami's expression softens somewhat. "Just stay away from Sakamoto-kun. He wasn't like that when he was devoting his time to track and field…but things change and so do people."

Jun frowns, not understanding anything Kawakami has told her.

"Anyway—break's almost over!" Kawakami quickly says. "Classes will end after fifth period today because of the subway accident. I'll have you introduce yourself when class resumes. Follow me."

Jun wordlessly follows Kawakami out of the faculty office. She keeps her distance from the teacher and continues averting her gaze when students walk by them. Kawakami stops in front of red lockers lined up against the wall across from the classrooms. She looks at Jun with a frown.

"By the way, when you introduce yourself…" She pauses for a moment. "Be serious about it even if you're lying to the class, okay? Do NOT say anything unnecessary."

Jun simply nods her head and continues following after Kawakami into a classroom. Going relatively unnoticed are two female students who have just walked past Jun and Kawakami. The two stop to look at each other, having managed to listen in on their conversation.

"…You think that's her?" the light-haired female student asks her short-haired companion, to which she responds with, "You mean the one in the rumors?"

…

…

It is to Jun's complete misfortune that her classmates are talking about her right as she stands at the front of the class. She looks at Kawakami, who only shrugs at her.

"Being super late on her first day?" A quiet male student looks to the female student sitting at the desk right next to his.

"She was probably with a client." She sounds rather disgusted.

"She looks so _plain_ , ya know? Like… _y'know_." Another male student speaks out and gestures at his chest.

"I'm sure there are a ton of men out there with a fetish for glasses and flat-chested girls." A nearby female student smirks as she looks over Jun.

"Those cat tights sure are something…think she's trying to make a statement?" A different male student playfully jabs his elbow into his neighbor's side, to which he just laughs off.

Jun exhales shakily as she starts to play with her hair.  _"I'm right here…"_

"Settle down," Kawakami says. She looks sternly at her students and waits for them to all stop talking before turning her attention to Jun. "I'd like to introduce a transfer student: Kimura Jun. Today we…had her attend from the afternoon on since she wasn't feeling well. All right—please say something to the class."

"I'm Kimura Jun," Jun quietly says, not knowing what else she could say to the class.

A prim female student notices Jun's timid behavior. "She seems so shy…but I bet that all changes behind closed doors."

A brown-haired student nods her head in agreement and adds, "She  _was_  arrested for assault, so I'm sure she's just as capable of losing her temper, too."

Kawakami makes a face as she looks over the classroom for an empty desk. She really wasn't expecting for things to turn out this way… "Uhh, so…your seat will be… Hmm…over there! The one that's open."

Kawakami directs Jun to an empty desk by the window. Jun adjusts her glasses, stopping only when she catches sight of a familiar shade of ash-blonde hair. Her heart skips a beat when she sees Takamaki Ann sitting at the desk in front of hers.

"Sorry, but can the people nearby please share your textbooks with her for today?" Kawakami looks pleadingly at the students sitting by the windows. She sighs in dismay when she hears them complain. "You can sit down now…"

Jun promptly makes her way over to her seat. She ignores the way her classmates avoid looking her way as she walks by them. Only Ann seems to be willing to look directly at her. She holds a textbook out for Jun to grab and gives her a reassuring smile.

"Hang in there," she whispers.

Jun smiles back at Ann, feeling quite relieved to see that she's fine. She takes the textbooks and then sits down at her desk. Ann passes her notebook back to her, telling her to feel free to copy from her.

"Something must've come up after we met, so I won't ask…" Ann can tell Jun has it rough as is with how their classmates keep gossiping about her. "Sorry if my notes aren't the best."

"It's fine." Jun's just glad to see Ann again like this.

"Did you catch that?" The brown-haired girl sitting in the desk next to Jun turns to the prim girl sitting right behind her. They're the same two girls who were just talking about Jun. "Those two seem to know each other."

"Girls like  _them_  tend to stick together," the prim girl says as a matter-of-factly. "I wouldn't be surprised if Kimura decides to introduce Takamaki to her clients. I'm sure  _that_ 'll make business boom."

The brown-haired girl nods her head. "That makes sense. Hey—isn't the transfer student is also mixed like Takamaki?"

"I think so—she's basically an exotic hooker!" The prim girl's comment manages to cross a line that causes Ann to snap.

_BAM!_

Ann slams her hand on top of her desk. The noise is loud enough to startle the two girls into silence. They avoid looking at either Ann or Jun, deciding that they've said enough for the time being.

Kawakami pretends that she didn't see that happen. She appreciates the silence that ensues as a result of Ann's actions and quickly changes the subject. "Oh, right! The volleyball rally's in two days…Everyone's just changed classes, so make sure you use that time to get to know each other. Well then, let's get class started. Who's on duty today?"

A boy with short blue hair stands up from his seat and, very wearily, says, "Everyone, please rise."

…

The rest of class goes by without many issues, though a few times, Ann finds herself throwing balls of rolled up paper at her classmates when their whispering gets too loud. She's used to being the subject of rumor, but when it comes to Jun…she just can't stand by and let it happen.

" _I won't let them…"_  She tightens her grasp on her pencil.

Jun returns Ann's notebook as soon as Kawakami dismisses class for the day. She smiles widely at Ann, thanking her for her assistance.

"It's nothing," Ann says with a small smile. "See you tomorrow?"

Jun nods her head. "Yeah!"

The two go their separate ways after that. There's not much for Jun to pack up, unlike Ann, so she leaves the classroom first. When she enters the hallway, she sees a brief image of an extravagant hallway that matches the interior of the castle from earlier. The image quickly fades from her vision as she feels a sharp pain in her head. She reaches up to hold her head and waits for the pain to pass.

That's how Kawakami finds her after leaving the classroom. "What's wrong?"

"Is this…a castle?" Jun asks.

Kawakami sighs. "Are you sure you're okay? Also…it seems like people are already talking about you, but I'm not the one who told them."

" _Then who?"_ Jun winces.

"I can't even catch a break…" Kawakami pinches the bridge of her nose. "Why do I have to deal with this? Hey…you should head straight home without stopping by anywhere. Sakura-san sounded pretty angry…and remember—don't get involved with Sakamoto-kun."

And just as she mentions his name, Ryuuji walks up to Jun. He gives her a few reassuring pats to the head, having heard the rumors about her—which he thinks are absolute bullshit.

"Speak of the devil…" Kawakami crosses her arms over her chest and looks suspiciously at Ryuuji. "What do you want? I heard the police caught you cutting class today."

Ryuuji scowls. "Ugh…it was nothin'."

"And you haven't dyed your hair back to black either…" Kawakami places a hand on her hip.

"Sorry 'bout that." Ryuuji doesn't mean it and Kawakami knows it, but doesn't say anything. He leans closer to Jun and quickly whispers to her, "I'll be waitin' on the rooftop."

He walks off after that, leaving Jun behind with Kawakami. Kawakami watches him with a disapproving look on her face. She sighs wearily and turns to Jun, who still seems so perplexed.

"See? That's why I don't want you getting involved." Kawakami can only imagine how bad the rumors will get if Jun is seen hanging out with Ryuuji… "Understood?"

" _Not really…"_ Jun can't understand why someone like Ryuuji could have such a bad reputation. She refrains from asking any questions, deciding that it would be best if Kawakami thinks that she's going to listen to her.

Kawakami smiles a bit, feeling somewhat satisfied that at least  _one_  thing is going her way. She tucks her hair behind her ear and then leaves Jun's side. As soon as she is out of sight, having turned a corner, Jun allows herself a chance to  _finally_  relax. She's not as tense as before, though that quickly changes when Principal Kobayakawa makes his way into the second floor with an  _unpleasantly_ familiar teacher at his side.

Jun freezes still as she watches Kobayakawa and Kamoshida stop in front of the stairs to talk to each other. They're not that far away from her, so she can hear what it is they're saying. She doesn't mean to eavesdrop on their conversation, but she just can't bring herself to move—not with Kamoshida blocking her way from the stairs.

"Why did you allow a student like her to transfer here?" Kamoshida asks Kobayakawa, not knowing that the student he is referring to is standing nearby. "She's already started associating with Sakamoto. A student with a criminal record, and the culprit of an assault case—at this rate, it'd be pointless how much I contribute to the school."

Jun bites her lip and lowers her head. She tries to ignore the bile rising in the back of her throat out of disgust. She just  _hates_  the way Kamoshida can say stuff like that.

"Now, don't be like that…" Kobayakawa tries to reassure him. "The school counts on you, Kamoshida-kun. You are our star."

It really pisses her off with how easily two adults can talk about stuff like that in the open. Jun holds her schoolbag closer to her chest.

"Still, a steady build-up is necessary behind such brilliance as well," Kobayakawa quickly adds.

"…Your troubles never seem to end, do they, Principal Kobayakawa?" A wide grin crosses Kamoshida's face. "All right, I understand. I'll continue to do my best to answer your expectations of me."

They go their separate ways after that, never once noticing that Jun had heard everything. She prefers to keep it that way, since the last thing she wants is any attention from either of them. She exhales shakily and adjusts her glasses.

" _I should head to the rooftop…"_ It wouldn't be fair if she keeps Ryuuji waiting, though…  _"What's up with him?"_

Standing across from the stairs is a male student with blue hair and brown eyes. He wears the male uniform without the blazer with his shirt's sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his suspenders hanging from his hips. Jun recognizes him as one of her classmates. He seems so weary and almost… _broken_. She can't help but look at him as she moves closer to the stairs. The way his face is covered in bruises and bandaids has her concerned.

"Huh…?! I-Is there something you want from me?" He notices that she's staring at him and shifts uncomfortably under her gaze.

Jun feels her cheeks heat up. She didn't mean to make him feel so anxious… "Umm…where is the rooftop?"

His eyes widen slightly. "But nobody's allowed up there… I mean, uh…just go up those stairs and you'll get there."

He averts his gaze completely when she thanks him. She frowns, but decides not to think too much about it. She adjusts her glasses and continues making her way to the rooftop. She walks up the stairs and enters the third floor just in time to hear some first-year students gossiping about her.

" _I guess I should get used to this, then…"_  She sighs wearily and continues moving upwards until she arrives at a door with an off-limits sign posted on it. She stares at it for a moment, but soon notices that the door is unlocked. She goes through it and finds Ryuuji leaning back in a chair by a row of messily arranged desks.

He waves at her and calls her over, being a small distance away from her.

"There you are," he says to her once she's close enough. "Sorry for callin' you up here like this."

"I don't mind," Jun says, because she honestly doesn't.

Ryuuji huffs. "I bet Kawakami already told you stuff like 'don't get involved with him,' huh?"

Jun bites her lip. "She…she said you're trouble."

Why, though, she doesn't know…and frankly, she doesn't care.

"Heh, we're pretty much in the same boat." Ryuuji smiles wryly. "I heard you got a criminal record and…somethin' about compensated dating? I dunno, it's all everyone's talkin' about in the hallways and classrooms."

"That's right…" Jun looks down at her feet.

"O-Oi—I ain't gonna judge!" Ryuuji frowns, feeling rather bad for making Jun look so sad. "I'm just sayin'—it's no wonder why you were so gutsy."

Jun laughs half-heartedly, but says nothing. She supposes she'll let Ryuuji think that way about her if he's not going to judge her… Deciding that she's done enough standing for one day, Jun sits herself down on top of a desk.

"So what was all that that happened?" Ryuuji asks. "You know, how we almost got killed at a castle…it wasn't a dream, right? You remember it too, yeah?"

Jun furrows her brow. "Unfortunately…"

"Right… _that_  happened." Ryuuji makes a face. "Sorry that I wasn't able to do much."

"It's fine," Jun insists, even though it isn't.

"Bullshit!" Ryuuji snaps. "You know it isn't and even if you did that compensated dating crap, that still doesn't mean you deserve that shit!"

"I…yeah, you're right—thank you." Jun gives Ryuuji a small smile.

He smiles back at her. "There we go—you look better when you smile, y'know? But that's enough about that—I should be the one thankin' you."

Jun blinks. "Hmm?"

"You really saved me from that shithead." Ryuuji's smile widens and shows off his sharp teeth. "Thanks, Jun."

His face heats up with a visible blush when he realizes that he hasn't asked Jun if he could call her by her first name. He waits anxiously for her response, his blush only darkening when she beams at him with a dazzling smile that exposes her cat-like fangs.

"You're welcome, Ryuuji!" She says his first name so casually without any honorifics that he soon finds himself covering his face with his hand. "I can call you that, right?"

"Yeah…" he replies rather meekly. He laughs nervously as he scratches the back of his head. He's not used to such familiarity…  _"Feels nice…"_

The two sit in silence together, just taking the time to enjoy each other's presence after going through the day feeling relatively unwanted. It lasts for only a few minutes before Ryuuji cautiously mentions Kamoshida's name to Jun.

"Sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but you need to know about him." It wouldn't be right if he'd left her in the dark about Kamoshida—especially since she's new to Shujin. "There are some rumors about him, but…no one says anything against him."

Ryuuji grits his teeth when he looks at his right leg. His temper flares up, but he manages to keep it somewhat under control.

"Why not?" she asks.

"It's 'cause he's some medalist who took the volleyball club to nationals." Ryuuji's tone is full of contempt towards Kamoshida. "The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real 'cause of that…"

"That's…comforting." Jun purses her lips.

Ryuuji frowns. "Sorry to drag you out here like this. I just wanted to warn you—that's all. And, uh…if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me for help, okay?"

"Okay." Jun smiles again, feeling somewhat better.

Ryuuji stands up from his chair and walks over to her. He smiles at her before reaching out to playfully ruffle her hair. "You know, we might be pretty similar. I feel like we're gonna get along just fine as 'troublemakers.'"

Jun only laughs at his comment. "I'm sure we will…"

"I'll come talk if I see you around." Ryuuji rubs the back of his neck. "Uhh…don't ignore me, alright?"

Jun nods her head. "I won't."

"Seeya." Ryuuji waves at her and then goes on his way.

She stays where she is, just letting everything sink in. It's been a long day, but…she made a friend.

" _Two, actually."_ Jun remembers how friendly Okumura Haru was to her. She frowns when she realizes that might change when Haru hears the rumors about her.  _"I guess it was nice while it lasted…"_

"Oh, it's you again!" Speak of the devil—there's Haru. She stands under the doorway, holding a green watering can in her hands. She's no longer wearing her school uniform and is dressed in a red jersey with white patterns on the sides. It fits her arms, legs, and hips rather loosely, making her appear smaller than she actually is. "I didn't think there'd be anyone up here…"

"Don't worry, I was just leaving." Jun knows when she's not wanted…

"I'm not saying you should leave." Or not…? "You can stay if you wish, I'm just here to check up on my sprouts."

"Sprouts?" Jun tilts her head to the side.

"Umm—they're right behind you in those white planters." Haru motions at Jun to look back

There are three white, rectangular-shaped planters set on the table right by the mess of desks. There are another two on the floor, set side to side by the table. Each of them has three sprouting plants growing out of the soil, adding up to a total of fifteen green sprouts.

"Ahh…" Jun almost forgot that they were there… She was too busy talking to Ryuuji to pay any attention to the sprouts.

"You won't be much of a bother if you decide to stay." Haru walks over to the planters. A warm smile crosses her face as she looks closely at the sprouts. "Although, if you need to leave, then that's fine. I just want to ensure that there aren't any misunderstandings between us, okay?"

Jun is at a loss for words over how nice Haru is to her. Didn't she hear the rumors? Or have they not reached the third-years yet?  _"Does it really matter?"_

It's only a matter of time before she finds out…

"Are you leaving?" Haru asks Jun after she hops off the desk. She receives only a nod as a response from Jun, presumably out of shyness. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Jun stares at Haru for a moment before a sharp bark of laughter escapes from her mouth. "Yeah, I guess so."

Haru smiles as she watches Jun walk away. When she reaches the door, Haru suddenly shouts at her, saying, "Try not to skip out on lunch again!"

Jun stops walking. She stays still for a few seconds before looking over her shoulder to flash a smile at Haru. "I won't!"

She leaves after that, leaving Haru all on her own. The third-year laughs to herself as she turns her attention back on her sprouts. She looks fondly at the smallest of the bunch and gently caresses its leaves.

"She's a lot like you…" she says to the sprout. "So small and underestimated…but there's more to appearances than meets the eye."

Laughter bubbles in her throat when she finds a flowering bud hidden under a leaf. She recalls being told that the sprout was the reject out of a shipment of violets, with how weak and frail it was in comparison to the others. And yet, here it is—flowering long before any of its lively-looking counterparts.

" _There has to be more to her than what those nasty rumors say…"_ Haru has actually heard about them from her classmates, but she refuses to let herself be swayed by what others say about the transfer student. She figures it's why Jun was so shy around her just now—she was likely waiting to be rejected…  _"Poor girl…"_

It'll likely take her some time to earn Jun's trust, but Haru is a patient girl. And she'll do whatever it takes to ensure that her new friend  _knows_  that she won't ever be rejected by her.

" _Oh, I shouldn't be calling her a friend just yet…"_ Maybe someday, but for now…Haru is content just being Jun's senpai.

…

…

Jun has little to no issue taking the train back to Yongen-Jaya. She doesn't get lost on her way to Leblanc, though she does get told not to stay out too late by the police officer in the area. She says nothing to him and just goes on her way.

It's sometime in the evening when she arrives at Leblanc. Sōjirō is working behind the counter, paying Jun no attention until the door closes behind her. It is then that he looks at her as he dries a cup in his hands, his expression turning stern.

"Hey, I got an interesting call from your school today," he tells her. "It's only your first day and you're already showing up hours late?"

Jun looks down, feeling rather ashamed. "I'm sorry…"

"And here I thought you got up and left on time this morning." Sōjirō huffs in anger, feeling rather annoyed with today's turn of events. And yet, when he hears Jun muttering a nearly inaudible apology, he decides that she's likely heard enough for today. Knowing that homeroom teacher of hers, Jun already got an earful from her. "Look, just behave yourself. Your life's forfeit if anything happens. You understand the meaning of probation,right?"

"I do." It's not like she's completely clueless about these things… It's just taking her some time to get used to her situation.

"Okay, then." Sōjirō puts away the cup he's finished drying. He's about ready to ask Jun if she's eaten when his cellphone starts ringing. He answers it immediately, no longer sounding so annoyed. "Hey, what's up?"

And just like yesterday, Sōjirō's demeanor changes entirely with one phone call. Jun can only assume it's the same person from yesterday—whoever that is. She's not going to ask…

"Yeah, I just closed up shop," Sōjirō says. "I'll be there in half an hour…"

He notices Jun staring and holds the phone away from his face. He makes sure to cover his phone's microphone so that the person on the other side of the call doesn't hear him.

"Hey, what're you standing around for?" Sōjirō doesn't like that Jun is just staring at him like that. It's almost unnerving— _almost_. "Go hurry on up to bed—or are you hungry? Is that why you're just staring at me?"

"N-No…I'm sorry…" Jun didn't mean to stare, she was just— "Ulp!"

She gags so suddenly, that it completely catches Sōjirō by surprise. He stares at her with wide eyes, nearly flinching when Jun retches loudly again.

"Hey—if you're going to throw up, do it in the toilet!" Sōjirō watches Jun as she makes a mad dash for the restroom. He grimaces when he hears her emptying the contents of her stomach. "And you couldn't bother to close the door…"

He sighs and goes back to talking on his phone. He does his best to ignore the unpleasant noises in the background.

" _She sure sounds like she's having a good time…"_ He'll check up on her after this call. "No, I just hired a part-timer. I'll be on my way, I just need to talk to her first. Don't worry—it won't take too long."

He hangs up after that, sighing wearily as he rubs the back of his head. He turns his head when he hears a toilet flushing and sees Jun leaving the restroom to rinse her mouth in the sink.

"Having fun?" Sōjirō's comment earns him a glare from Jun. He huffs out a laugh and slides his phone back into his pocket. "You'll live."

He'd be more worried if she  _didn't_  react that way. From the looks of it, it's nothing too serious. It's likely that Jun is still adjusting to her new surroundings.

" _It's probably just stress."_  He wouldn't be surprised if her sheltered upbringing left her sensitive to sudden changes in her environment. "Go get some sleep."

Jun wipes her mouth on the back of her sleeve after turning off the tap. Her head is throbbing and her stomach is still churning, so she sees no reason to ignore Sōjirō. Of course, when she heads upstairs, she doesn't go to bed right away after changing out of her clothes. Instead, she decides to write an entry in her diary.

" _So tired…"_ She stops every so often to yawn. It really doesn't hit her until now, but she is  _exhausted_.  _"It's probably because of all that weird stuff that's been happening to me…"_

She's certainly had quite the adventure today, for her first day of school.

" _Could be worse…"_ She could have gone through that entire ordeal without Ryuuji…but she didn't.  _"I'm glad he was there…"_

She finishes her entry, feeling satisfied with what she's written. Though, rather than put away her diary and call it a night, she decides to draw a bit on a blank page. It's nothing too complex—just a simple sketch.

" _ **Is that supposed to be me?"**_  Arsène's voice echoes in the back of her head.

Jun pauses for a moment and smiles.  _"Yeah…you like it?"_

" _ **I'm flattered that you've picked me as your muse."**_ He laughs rather jovially—a stark difference from his usually mischievous tone. It's a pleasant sound, though it soon stops as Arsène asks Jun a rather serious question. _ **"Although, are you truly at ease? Or are you still troubled by that lecherous scum?"**_

Jun freezes still, her eyes going wide in shock.  _"Ahh…"_

" _ **I am thou, and thou art I,"**_  Arsène repeats himself.  _ **"I know of everything that you hide from others in your attempts to appear calm. It's commendable…but all acts must eventually come to an end."**_

She's tried her best to ignore it, but her anxiety does a good job at reminding her that she almost  _died_. And just like that, an intense wave of emotions hit her like a ton of bricks. Panic swells in her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe. Her diary falls onto the floor, out of her trembling hands. She's shaking so hard as tears stream down her cheeks.

She curls up in a fetal position on her bed, taking small comfort in the softness of her sheets and pillow. She starts looking for something— _anything_ —that she can focus on. It's hard, because it's so fucking quiet in this place she barely even knows.

" _Home, home, home, home!"_ She wants to go home so badly, but she can't. She wants to call home, but she's worried how her family might react. She doesn't want them getting into any trouble because of her…  _"Not again!"_

She gasps and gasps and gasps, until finally…

" _ **I am thou, and thou art I."**_ Arsène's voice reaches out to her. _ **"I'll say it however many times I have to until you understand."**_

And so he does. It's such a distinct phrase he repeats—such an odd, peculiar phrase. And yet, it's what helps Jun stay grounded long enough for her to regain control of her breathing. Eventually, she calms down and Arsène stops repeating himself.

" _ **Do you understand now?"**_ he asks.

" _I…yes."_ It's taken her some time, but now she realizes that she is no longer alone. She has Arsène—and Ryuuji, too. She has Ann and Haru—two girls who barely know her, but gave her a chance despite the rumors about her. Though, right now, it's just her and Arsène…and he's not going anywhere without her.  _"I am thou, huh?"_

" _ **I'm glad you finally understand."**_ He laughs again—it's a sound that brings Jun a lot of comfort.

Jun sits up and exhales shakily. She wipes away the tears in her eyes, taking the moment to remove her glasses. She clambers out of bed to make her way over to the light switch. As soon as the lights are off, she goes back to bed and pulls the blankets over herself.

" _Arsène?"_ She sniffs as she rubs at her eye.  _"Is it okay if I—"_

" _ **You may,"**_ he responds.

After a long day of holding it in, Jun finally allows herself to cry.

…

…

* * *

_Monday, April 11th, 20XX_

_Today was my first day at Shujin High and…I was late. Something happened on the way there, something…serious. I rather forget, even though I can't._

_I almost died today…but I'm still here. And I think that's okay._

_I'm…okay._

…

_I made a friend today—his name is Sakamoto Ryuuji. He's a rather vulgar boy, but he's nice. His teeth remind me of Eomma's…I hope she's okay._

_I met a girl today—she's mixed, like me. Takamaki Ann is a quarter-American girl with pretty blue eyes. I like her hair—very fluffy-looking. She's in my class, too!_

_She…she helped me when everyone else was talking behind my back. I hope that we can become great friends some day._

_I also met Okumura Haru. She shared her lunch with me and took me to the faculty office when I was lost. She's a very pretty third-year—I like her a lot._

_She seems to have an interest in gardening. Shiba would like her…maybe I should ask her for advice._

…

…

…

_How did everyone find out about me? Only the school faculty was supposed to know… Why is everyone talking about me like that?_

_I've never participated in compensated dating. Why would I even? I don't need the extra money, nor do I want to associate with anyone who's willing to pay school girls for their…_ _**services** _ _._

_I've heard about them from Shibi. It gets really serious pretty fast—it's scary._

_And that man—it was his own damn fault that he got hurt. His drunk ass fell—that's how he got hurt._

_It's not my fault…_

_Not my fault. Not my fault. Not my fault. Not my fault. Not my faultnotmyfaultnotmyfault._

_NOT MY FAULT—IT'S NOT MY FUCKING FAULT._

_It's…just_ _**not** _ _._

…

…

_I made another friend today._

_His name is Arsène Lupin…and I think we're going to get along just fine._

* * *

…

…

When Jun opens her eyes, she is greeted to the familiar sight of velvet blue walls and chains. She sits up almost instantly in her bed, making a face when she sees the cuffs around her wrists. They're still as cold and heavy as ever…

" _These clothes again…"_ It surprises her how quickly she's adjusted to the black-and-white prisoner uniform. Although, after all that's happened in that castle…she supposes a lot stranger has already happened. Still, she doesn't particularly like how worn out it is…  _"Is that a stain?!"_

Now that's just  _gross_!

"…About time you've come to." Jun turns to see those strange twins again, standing on the other side of her cell's bars. It is Caroline who speaks to her, in such an irritated tone. "On your feet, Inmate!"

Jun simply stares at Caroline, daring to stick her tongue out at the girl when told to hurry up. She remains unfazed when Caroline slams her baton against the bars, not even blinking an eye when electricity begins to crackle visibly from the baton.

"How dare you show such insubordination!" Caroline growls, golden eyes gleaming with anger.

Justine acts quickly and reaches out to grab Caroline's baton. Her gloved hand wraps tightly around the baton, even though Caroline still has it activated. And yet, despite it all, Justine never flinches, not even when the electricity crackles intensely around her hand. There's a serious look in her eyes that Caroline notices when her twin looks her way. She furrows her brow and, with great reluctance, deactivates her baton.

Justine simply shakes her hand a few times and then clears her throat. There's something about her that Jun finds unnerving. Despite her appearance, it's clear that there's something eerily  _inhuman_ about Justine that she likely shares with Caroline.

"Our master wishes to speak with you," she calmly tells Jun. "It's for your own sake that you take his words to heart."

Jun sighs and makes her way over to the bars. She notices Caroline glaring at her, but pays not much attention to it. She looks ahead at Igor, who still sits at his desk.

"First off, let us celebrate our reunion." Igor's smile never wavers, his voice still deep and gruff as Jun last remembers it. "Oh…? You've awakened to your powers. And special ones at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin."

Jun tilts her head to the side. "My powers?"

Is he talking about Arsène?

"There is no need to understand it all for the time being," Igor says. "You will be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened to."

There's that word again—the one she's heard from Morgana. Isn't that what Arsène is?

" _My head hurts…"_ All she wants to do is sleep, but it seems that's currently out of the question.

"Personas are, in other words, a 'mask'—an armor of the heart when confronting world matters," Igor explains. "I have high expectations of you."

"What do you mean?" Jun's not sure if she even feels comfortable hearing that from a strange man talking to her in her dreams.

"There is no need to worry," he reassures her, though all he does is raise even more questions she has regarding him and everything else in this strange prison he calls the Velvet Room. "You will learn when the time comes."

" _And when will that be?"_ Jun sighs inwardly in exasperation.

"By the by…have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator?" he asks her. "Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces."

"Metaverse Navigator…?" she repeats questioningly.

"I bestowed it to you as a means to train you as a thief," he says it as though it's something so simple.

"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master!" Caroline sharply interjects. "You better take care in using it, Inmate!"

Jun merely gives Caroline a look of disinterest. She'll use however the hell she wants…whatever the Metaverse Navigator is.

"Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief." Justine looks almost expectantly at Jun.

"It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone," Igor suddenly says, almost as an afterthought. "Should there be others who would prove beneficial to you, I will grant it to them as well. This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief…"

Jun has no idea what to make of these expectations.  _"A thief?"_

She's already in trouble for a crime she didn't commit, the last thing she wants to do now is actually commit one out of her own free will.

The loud ringing of an alarm snaps Jun out of her thoughts. It's just like last time—and she  _still_  doesn't know where that alarm is.

"Hmph, it's time." Caroline sounds almost annoyed. "Go back and enjoy whatever rest you might have…"

For a second time, Jun's consciousness starts to fade. And just like last time, Justine's voice is the last thing she hears.

"Goodnight, Inmate," she repeats herself for a second time.

* * *

…

…

Jun wakes up the next morning with a pounding headache. This time, she wakes up to her alarm. However, it's still set up to go off at such an early hour because she forgot to change it.

" _I knew I was forgetting something…"_  Well, at least she doesn't have to worry about being late at all.  _"Ugh, I had another strange dream…Fate and awakening…?"_

It's too damn early for her to be thinking about that. Besides, she needs to get ready for school. She can't afford to be late two times in a row…

This time, she pays attention to which tights she pulls out of the cardboard box. She's not making the same mistake again like yesterday. She wears a different turtleneck shirt this time, one that has two black chevrons on the neck instead of a black bow. She yawns loudly as she looks for her spare blazer.

"Hey kid—I know you're awake!" Sōjirō calls out to her from downstairs. "I'm setting your breakfast down on the counter. Make sure you eat it while it's hot."

_Growl._

" _Ugh, forget it…"_ She'll just wear the same blazer again.  _"I'll worry about looking for my other blazer later…"_

For now, she'll just go downstairs to eat breakfast. It's curry again and it's just as good as yesterday. She eats happily with a smile on her face as Sōjirō watches her. He gives her a strange look, his nose crinkling a bit at a smell that doesn't sit too well with him.

"Hey, when you're done, go to the public bath—you're starting to smell." As usual, Sōjirō never fails to pull his punches. He huffs a laugh when Jun sends a glare in his direction.  _"Geez, they're more alike than I thought…"_

When Jun finishes her curry, Sōjirō sends her to the public bath across from the café. It's still early in the morning, so she's somewhat surprised to see that the public bath is open. Of course, only the washing stations are available to customers at this hour, from what she's been told by the person at the bandai.

She guesses it's makes a lot of sense, since there's not enough time for someone like her to relax in the tub. A part of her still wishes that she had enough time to prepare, so she didn't have to buy her own towels and conditioner. She's fortunate enough that shampoo and soap are provided already at the washing stations. What's more, the scents that they have aren't that bad either.

It's not that she doesn't have the money to pay for such stuff, it's that she  _knows_  she has them already in her room. And with how close the public bath is to Leblanc…it almost annoys her that Sōjirō didn't give her some time to get her things.

She eventually lets it go by the time she's finished bathing. She enters the changing room, smelling strongly like a flower. It's almost distracting, but she supposes it could be worse. She likes the smell at the very least…

As soon as she finishes drying off and changing into her school uniform, she drops by Leblanc to leave her things in her room. She decides to forego her blazer—just for today. She has no time to look around for her spare blazer and the last thing she needs is for Sōjirō to ask her if that's the same one from yesterday. And honestly, it wouldn't feel right to wear the same blazer four days in a row with clean clothes…in her opinion, at least.

Sōjirō still stops her on her way out of the café, although it's so he can hand her an umbrella.

"I'm not sure if you have one already, so I'm lending you mine for the day," he tells her.

"It's raining?" Jun makes a face.

"It started pouring not long after you went upstairs to leave your things," he replies. "You better hope you did a good job drying your hair. It's not my fault if you get sick."

Jun responds to Sōjirō's comment by sticking out her tongue. He huffs a laugh and calls her a brat. It's the last thing he says to her before she leaves Leblanc.

…

She has better luck today following after a fellow student from Shujin High on the way to school. The train is still as packed as ever, that she can't help but listen in on the conversation going on between a lighthearted student and his mellow friend. They talk about the accident from a few days back, saying that the conductor totally lost it. What's disturbing to Jun is how often it's been happening.

" _Just what is going on?"_ She sighs and starts playing with her hair. She sighs again when she notices that her hair is still damp.  _"Maybe I should've blow dried my hair…"_

Well, it's too late for her to do anything about it. Besides…she's already reached her stop. Like yesterday, there are students loitering around, passing away the spare time they have to talk to each other. However, it quickly comes to her attention that they're talking about  _her_.

Jun tries to keep a straight face when she hears them whispering to each other, as though she can't hear them (even though she can). She stops walking when she finds out that they're talking about her online.

" _Am I…am I actually online?"_ She feels her stomach churn unpleasantly at the thought. From the looks of it, it's how everyone learned all about her in such a short amount of time.  _"How, though?"_

She just doesn't know…

…

Jun arrives to her classroom with time to spare. Unsurprisingly, her classmates are gossiping to each other about her. She hears a male classmate of hers commenting on her scent—saying that it's nice. A female classmate jealously brushes it off as perfume that she's bought to attract clients.

Jun almost wants to correct them, but refrains from doing so. She decides to let them talk—they won't believe her anyways. A smile crosses her face when Ann greets her as she walks over to her desk.

"New perfume?" she innocently asks.

"I just took a shower—that's all," Jun simply says.

"Is that so?" Ann reaches out to touch Jun's hair. She frowns when she finds that it's still damp. "Come here—you're gonna get sick at this rate."

Ann opens her schoolbag and dumps the contents onto her desk. She grabs a small red towel out of the mess and uses it to dry Jun's damp hair. She does a very thorough job, leaving Jun's hair in an even fluffier and unruly state when she finishes.

"You're lucky that I take a small towel with me on rainy days," Ann says, laughing afterwards when she sees the results of her work on Jun's hair. It's a cute look, she thinks, though she wonders… "You have a brush?"

"No…" Jun doesn't really bother with that.

Ann blinks a few times and sighs. "Looks like my work is far from done…come closer, Kimura-san—I'm gonna brush your hair."

Jun is a lot more compliant than usual when it comes to Ann, but it's only because she reminds her of her uncles. They're always trying to get her to brush her hair, but really, she can't be bothered unless she wants to. She sighs contently when she feels the brush run through her hair so easily.

Ann is absolutely baffled at how the brush just  _glides_ through Jun's hair.  _"What the hell?!"_

It's such an unruly mess and yet…it's a lot softer and tangle-free than it appears. It almost annoys Ann, if only for the amount of effort she puts in every morning when she gets ready for school. But then she gets an idea and pulls out a few hair ties. A wide smile crosses her face when Jun asks her what she's doing.

"You'll see!" she says.

Less than ten minutes later, Ann pulls out a compact mirror and holds it in front of Jun's face so she can see her own reflection. Jun blinks and tentatively touches one of the twin braids draped over her shoulders. Her hair looks a lot neater now…

"What do you think?" Ann smiles widely. "I thought it'd give you a bookish look to match with your glasses!"

Jun just stares at her reflection for a minute…then she walks behind Ann and reaches up to grab one of her ponytails. Ann stops smiling then, wondering what it is that Jun is trying to do. She says nothing when Jun removes the hair tie on her ponytail. Very carefully, she begins to braid her blonde, wavy hair.

" _So that's what she's doing…"_ Ann laughs softly. She decides to let Jun do as she pleases—the glasses-wearing girl isn't causing her any harm.  _"She's probably returning the favor…"_

Ann can respect that…what she  _can't_  respect is their gossiping neighbors…

"You think she's teaching her?" The prim girl twirls a lock of her hair around her finger.

"Who's teaching who, though?" Her brown-haired companion asks.

"Working together?" the prim girl suggests. "I wonder if they do that gross lesbian stuff—OW!"

"Shut up, Naoka!" Ann snaps, having just flicked a hair tie at Naoka's forehead. "Look, I don't really care about what people say about me— _especially_  when it's coming from you and Megumi. But leave Kimura-san out of this…and I don't want to  _ever_ hear you saying shit like that so casually…do you understand?"

There's an awkward silence that ensues after that, from how scarily quiet Ann's voice had gotten. A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Naoka's face. She almost seems like she wants to say something, but is too stunned to do so. Even Megumi is at a loss for words.

Jun doesn't say anything either, though it's mostly because she has nothing she  _wants_  to say. Words cannot describe her appreciation for Ann's actions. She can't help but smile as she wraps a hair tie around the end of the braid in her hands. She stops for a moment to admire her work, feeling satisfied with how neatly she's braided Ann's hair. She then removes the hair tie from Ann's other ponytail and quickly gets to work on braiding the other half of her blonde hair.

Ann notices this, but pays no particular attention to it. She's still fuming over what Naoka said about her and Jun. Anger flares in her eyes when she hears Megumi whisper to Naoka.

"We better stop—otherwise, we're gonna get in trouble with Kamoshida-sensei," she says.

It pisses Ann off that  _this_  is what gets Naoka and Megumi to finally shut up, but she decides not to say anything about it. There's just no point…and even if she  _did_  do something, she doubts it'll make a difference.

Sighing, Ann lazily holds up her compact mirror to check on her reflection. Her eyes widen when she sees that Jun has finished braiding her hair and the outcome…looks a lot better than she expected from a girl with unruly hair.

"Wow…nice work, Kimura-san!" Ann looks over shoulder and flashes a smile at Jun.

Jun blinks a few times, her cheeks heating up with a blush. She laughs awkwardly and shyly mutters a "thank you" to Ann. She's happy to hear that Ann likes what she did to her hair, because she wasn't so sure what she would think.

The school bell rings just then, notifying everyone that class has just begun. Jun promptly takes her seat behind Ann and pulls out her notebook from her schoolbag. Within minutes, a middle-aged glasses-wearing man enters the classroom. He looks around the room with a serious expression on his face. He crosses his arms over his chest and starts to speak.

"I'm the social studies teacher, Ushimaru-sensei," he says. "I'll be teaching you the rules of society this year."

Ushimaru takes another look around the classroom. He arches his brow and then uncrosses his arms.

"Hmph…you all look like you've been spoiled growing up." His comment catches Jun by surprise—it's not anything she was expecting. "Before we learn society's rules, maybe I should start with the rules of being a decent human being."

A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Jun's face when Ushimaru's gaze suddenly falls on her.  _"Uh-oh…"_

"Hey, new kid," he says. "The Greek philosopher Plato divided the human soul into three parts. A soul is composed of appetite, spirit, and what else?"

"It's…" Jun feels her blood run cold. "It's…"

Her mind is completely blank. None of this makes any sense to her. She doesn't know the answer, even though she  _knows_  that she should. A part of her wants to admit it so that Ushimaru can ask someone else, but now everyone's staring at her. They're just waiting—waiting for her to screw up.

"We haven't got all day, Kimura—do you know the answer or not?" Ushimaru narrows his eyes.

Jun can feel her eyes stinging with hot tears.  _"I know I heard that name before—but where?"_

It takes her almost a minute, but she manages to come up with something before Ushimaru can call on someone else.

"Logic…?" She sounds somewhat uncertain—likely because she just said the first thing that popped into her head. Of course, Ushimaru doesn't seem to care about that because Jun…

_Clap! Clap!_

"Correct." Jun got it right, earning herself a couple of claps from Ushimaru as praise. "So you knew that, huh?"

There's this look on Ushimaru's face that shows he wasn't expecting a correct answer from Jun. It almost pisses her off— _almost_. Instead, she's just relieved and quickly jots down a few notes so that she doesn't forget.

"Plato's teacher, Socrates, said that evil is born from ignorance," Ushimaru continues. "People who've been babied, taught that evil is due to individuality, can only become society's scum."

Astonished whispers and murmurs soon fill the room. Jun is not at all surprised to hear her name being dropped. Her classmates aren't even bothering to hide their shock over how she answered Ushimaru's question correctly. It makes her feel rather awkward, considering that she just guessed.

Then again…guess or not, it still doesn't the fact that she learned something from this. And it's not like anyone knows, either, so she might as well make the most of it. A smile crosses her face as she places a hand behind her head and rolls her neck.

"Bizarre incidents have been occurring frequently," Ushimaru says. "Those are but the actions of such scum. We don't need crude people like that in this school, understand?"

Jun averts her eyes and pretends that Ushimaru wasn't directing that comment at her. She writes it off as a coincidence and goes back to taking notes as Ushimaru continues his lesson.

…

…

The rest of school goes by without any issues. Jun doesn't have much luck finding Ryuuji during lunchtime, so she's hoping to see him after school. She walks out of the classroom once she's packed her things.

"Hey there, Takamaki." That's when she hears  _him_.

Jun holds her bag closely to her chest, her body going still at the mere sight of Kamoshida. She swallows hard and hopes he doesn't see her…but then she notices that he's talking to Ann.

" _What the hell?!"_ She doesn't like this…she doesn't like this at all.

"You looking for a ride home?" he asks her with a smile on his face. "Things have been pretty dangerous lately with all those accidents."

Ann averts her gaze, a frown soon forming on her lips. "Sorry, I have a photoshoot today. It's for the summer issue, so I can't afford to miss it…"

"Hey, now…" Kamoshida frowns. "Being a model's fine and dandy, but don't work your pretty little self to the bone."

Jun feels her stomach churning uncomfortably. There's just something so _off_  about that comment from Kamoshida.

"You mentioned you weren't feeling well, right?" Kamoshida places his hands on his hips. "Something about appendicitis?"

"Yes…" Ann sighs. "I keep planning to go to the hospital, but I've been too busy…sorry to worry you."

"You must be lonely too," Kamoshida suddenly says. "I feel bad for keeping your best friend at practice so often."

Ann goes still as a small bead of sweat rolls down the side of her face. She tries not to seem so shocked, even though she's certain he's noticed.

"That's why I asked you out in the first place," he says. "Oh, and…be careful around that transfer student."

Jun feels her blood run cold. Does he…does he know she's there?

"She's got a criminal record, after all," Kamoshida explains. "And the less said about her compensated dating record, the better…"

"I appreciate the thought, but I can handle myself just fine." Ann bites her lip and starts stroking the ends of one of her braids. She doesn't want to seem so annoyed, even though she is. It just pisses her off that Kamoshida can say that so easily. "…Thanks anyways."

Kamoshida only nods his head. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask—are you trying out a new hairstyle?"

"Ahh!" Ann's eyes go wide.

He reaches out to touch one of Ann's braids. A smile crosses his face as he looks at Ann and says, "It looks good…"

Ann coughs a few times into her hand before batting away Kamoshida's hand. "Please excuse me…but I need to leave."

Ann walks off after that and as soon as she's out of earshot, Kamoshida clicks his tongue and scowls.

"Tch…" He sounds especially angry that Jun tries to back away into her classroom for safety…except she ends up bumping into her blue-haired classmate in the process.

"Hyeeek!" a shriek leaves her mouth before she can stop herself.

And just like that, Kamoshida has his eyes on her. He stares at her for a moment and then clicks tongue again. "Causing trouble, Kimura?"

"S-S-Sorry…" Jun struggles to keep her voice steady. "I didn't mean to…"

"And those braids…" Kamoshida considers it strange that the transfer student has her hair also in braids like Ann… "Did you do them yourself?"

"Takamaki-san actually did them…" the boy behind Jun suddenly says. "Sorry for interrupting, Kamoshida-sensei…"

Kamoshida shakes his head and waves his hand. "You're fine, Mishima—now get going. Remember that the volleyball rally is tomorrow, so you better put in a lot of effort today."

"Yes, sir…" Mishima exhales shakily. "Excuse me…"

Jun moves out of the way to let Mishima walk by. It takes her a moment to realize that with Mishima gone, it's just her and Kamoshida. She bites her lip and tries to pretend that her stomach isn't twisting and turning so uncomfortably.

"So Takamaki did your hair…" A smile tugs at the corner of Kamoshida's mouth as he looks at Jun. "You aren't giving her any trouble, are you?"

"No…" Jun shakes her head. "I would never—not after what's she's done for me."

"Is that so…?" Kamoshida crosses his arms over his chest. "Say…would you be interested in joining the volleyball club? I'm sure it'll do a troublesome student like you some good if you learn some discipline."

_Th-Thump!_

"N-No thank you." Jun avoids making eye contact with Kamoshida. Something within her head screams at her to get away. It urges her to run, to the point she feels she can't stay around the gym teacher any longer. "I…I gotta go!"

She bolts down the stairs, never once looking back as she makes her way out of Shujin. She's not sure if Kamoshida has tried calling out to her, nor does she care. She just  _needs_ to get away. She stops running only once she's made it outside. She stops to catch her breath for a minute and then slowly makes her way down the steps. There, at the gate, she finds Ryuuji waiting for her.

"Yo." He waves his hand at her.

She blinks a few times and then grins. "You waiting to ambush me?"

She's trying to make a joke, but it fails spectacularly when Ryuuji takes her seriously.

"Ambush…?" Right now, Ryuuji reminds Jun of a kicked puppy—in that it makes her feel really bad to see him look so hurt. "C'mon, don't say shit like that."

"I'm sorry…" she says. "I didn't mean it—I was just trying to be funny."

Ryuuji shakes his head. He understands—it was honestly a matter of time before this shit happened. "It's fine—sometimes things like that go over my head, so don't worry about it. Anyways…I wanna talk about that castle from yesterday."

Jun frowns when she recalls yesterday's events. Ryuuji notices this and is quick to give her a few reassuring pats on the head.

"I know it's difficult for you to even think about it, but…we can't just pretend it didn't happen—not when it's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida." Ryuuji will do anything to make that scumbag pay for what he did to them…

Jun exhales shakily. As much as she doesn't want to admit it…Ryuuji is right. It wouldn't do either of them any good to pretend that nothing happened in that castle. It'll just make things worse for the two of them.

"I wanna find out what's up with that place, no matter what." Ryuuji rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "And just so y'know…you're the only person I can rely on for this stuff."

He averts his gaze as a blush tinges his cheeks red. He's not one to say shit like this so casually. It's embarrassing, but…he really meant what he said.

"Are you in, Jun?" he asks.

Jun stares at Ryuuji for a moment before nodding her head. "Sure. What next?"

"Okay!" Ryuuji grins widely as he moves his right arm in a circular motion. "So, uh…I think we should just try and retrace our steps from yesterday. In the meantime…you were headed towards the station, right? Let's go together. Lemme know if you notice any other weird buildings on the way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, it's been a while and I still don't have a functioning laptop! Also, I lost one of my cats last month, so I've been in a bit of a slump (and the less said about the issues I have with my toxic older sister, the better).
> 
> But as of recently, thanks to my laptop still being able to function long enough for me to stream (I don't trust it long enough to write anything on it), I've started up  _Persona_  (PSP) and been dragged back into  _Persona_! And if that wasn't enough, then there's the confirmed  _Persona 5_ anime AND THE FUCKING THREE GAMES THAT WERE ANNOUNCED JUST YESTERDAY!
> 
> How about that  _Dancing Star Night_  and  _Moon Night_? Although, now I  _have_  to finish  _Persona Q_ because of  _Q2_ …ugh, here's to the Inaba Pride Parade owning my ass over and over again. Also, ouch, my wallet—I start school in a few weeks, so if I suddenly like…just stop for a while, then it's because I'm trying harder this time. I have a class I'm retaking because I failed it last year and I'm not too proud about it, but what can you do after you've lost one of your friends partway through the semester and have to deal with a tax training class?
> 
> Not much…it's just extremely stressful. Hopefully, this time, things go differently! So have this long chapter on me and let me just say…it would've been longer, but I decided to split it because I was breaking 15k+ words. Anyone who's kept up with the Fanfiction Run has gotten a sneak peek of this chapter out of gratitude, for the support they've given me these past few weeks.
> 
> So I like to give a shout-out out to my regulars who were there for the preview (in which my screams could be heard in the background, because I was going through the hell bank with like an hour and a half of progress riding on my back without a safe room in sight):  **YuukiLilith** ,  **gooseoverlord** ,  **MitsukiOfNight** ,  **Benven99** ,  **tibs** ,  **ShirakiNagi** ,  **Zacheria10** , and  **CraftSpider**!
> 
> I apologize if I'm missing anyone, but I'd also like to give a special mention to  **kanji the dragonslayer** ,  **HawthornShadow** , and again, everyone again for the amount of ideas that were spawned during the stream!
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is brought to you by  **kurobook** 's quadruple braids comment on Skype and my love for Haru and her sprouts (I did  **not**  shut up about them during the Fanfiction Run). Jun is prone to panic attacks, thanks to her anxiety, and she has some PTSD in regards to Kamoshida (I wouldn't blame her).
> 
> And as you can see, Ann is a lot more protective of Jun-likely because they have to deal with similar rumors. There's also the fact that they're both mixed, so Ann is especially touchy about anyone making any negative comments about it. There's also the fact that Kamoshida has taken an interest in both of them, though that's only just starting to show through. (Be afraid…be  _very_  afraid.)
> 
> So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please do feel free to leave a comment, I do crave feedback and it would really help if you guys would point put any mistakes I might've missed while typing this chapter out on my tablet. So until next time, everyone!


	6. Captain William Kidd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **5-3-18 Hey y'all, guess who just turned 23 the other day and is back?!**
> 
>  
> 
> **Yo! Just wanted to let everyone know that this fic is not dead, I AM working on the next chapter, and I also just wanted to let everyone know that I went through this fic again and fixed all the mistakes that have gotten past me, due to the fact that I wrote like half of these chapters on a tablet. I have my new laptop now, so everything is all good! I also like added a bit extra in this chapter, not a lot, but it definitely wasn't in the original, so ya!**
> 
>  
> 
> **[Façade](https://archiveofourown.org/works/952758/chapters/1863689) is also back, by the way, now that I have an entire editing team helping out, so that's something else! Anyways, sorry if this isn't an update, but do keep an eye out for the next chapter!**

Jun and Ryuuji stand outside the station by Shujin High, in the area where they first met.

"If a huge castle like that really exists, I'm sure we'll find it in no time." Ryuuji furrows his brow. "…When'd they build something like that though?"

"I dunno…" Jun shrugs.

Ryuuji looks around, trying to remember what he and Jun did the other day. "We walked that way from here, right?"

"Maybe…" Jun vaguely remembers what happened on the way to the castle.

Ryuuji frowns. "When you put it that way, I'm not so sure anymore…"

"I'm sorry…" Jun says.

"It's fine—don't apologize." It makes him feel bad when Jun looks at him that way… "Alright, this way. Lemme know if you notice something."

"Hey, didn't you carry me on your back?" Jun suddenly asks.

Ryuuji makes a face. "You're not sayin' I should carry you again, right?"

"Nah, it's not raining anymore and I'm not wearing those tights, so it's all good." Jun can handle puddles to an extent and her umbrella is in her schoolbag, so she's prepared this time, unlike yesterday. "So let's go."

Ryuuji leads her through the alley they both went through the other day. Though, when they reach the end and leave the alley, they find themselves back at Shujin High and not the castle.

"Huh…?" Ryuuji's eyes go wide. He starts scratching his head in thought. "We're at school…"

"Yeah…" It looks exactly the way it when they left. Even now, there are still students going out of the school building.

"There wasn't anything out of place along the way, right?" Ryuuji asks Jun. He frowns when he sees her shake her head. "I didn't see no castle either…We must've made a wrong turn somewhere. Let's try again."

Jun frowns. "I wanna go home…"

"Geez, you act like such a kid." Ryuuji huffs. "C'mon, you gotta stick with me to the end."

"Urgh, fine…" Jun says.

"Alright, let's go!" Ryuuji lightly tugs on Jun's sleeve before walking off. She follows right after him with some slight reluctance.

They retrace their steps one more time, hoping that things will be different this time.

"…For real?" It's not—Shujin High looks exactly the same since they last saw it a few minutes ago. By now, the entrance is completely devoid of any students, apart from him and Jun.

"Can we go home now?" Jun yawns loudly. All she wants to do is sleep…

"Just hold up." Ryuuji frowns. "By the way, any reason why your hair is like that?"

"Does it look weird?" Jun holds up one of her braids.

"Nah—you look kinda…smart," Ryuuji says. "Kinda like one of those types of girls who read a lot. It's not that bad of a look on you—especially with those glasses of yours. It's cute."

"Thanks." It's makes her feel a lot better since it's coming from someone like Ryuuji. "I like your hair, too—though, you might want to touch up your roots."

"Aww shit—I knew I was forgetting to do somethin'!" Ryuuji sighs as he runs his fingers through his hair. "Wait, I'm getting distracted…"

"That seems to happen to you a lot." It's not bad—it's just something Jun has noticed.

"Yeah, I'm rather impulsive, too…but that's 'cause I have ADHD." Ryuuji has no issues telling Jun this.

"Ah, that explains a lot…" Like, so many things, actually…but again, Jun doesn't mind. "So…what now?"

"I dunno…" Ryuuji frowns. "Is it smaller than we think it is? What do you think?"

"Check on your phone…" Jun yawns again. "I'm sleepy…"

"I already did that." Ryuuji pulls out his phone again just to make sure. "I didn't see anything like it around here…Huh? Phone…"

It takes him a moment, but Ryuuji soon gets an idea. He looks at Jun as she yawns again, waiting for to finish before getting her attention.

"Hey, that reminds me—didn't you have a navigation app thingy on, back then?" he asks her as he slips his phone back into his pocket.

"Navigation app?" Jun messes with her bangs.

"I dunno if it was or not, but I heard stuff that sounded like one comin' from your phone," Ryuuji explains. He kicks his foot against the ground. "Y'know, didn't it say stuff like 'return to the real world' or something like that? Lemme see your phone for a bit."

Jun pulls out her phone and hands it over to Ryuuji. She yawns one more time before deciding to undo her braids, having had enough of them for one day. She likes the way her hair feels when it's down and honestly, it's a lot easier to play with her hair when it's not in a braid.

"What's this eyeball-lookin' thing?" Ryuuji suddenly asks.

"I can't delete it." Jun's already come to terms with that damn virus.

"Wait, huh?" Ryuuji makes a face. "What a weird app…"

"It's creepy, that's what it is." Jun combs her fingers through her hair. Her hair is a lot wavier now that it's out of its braids.

"…Oh wait, this is it!" Ryuuji exclaims as a wide grin crosses his face. "I knew it—it IS a navigation app! There's even your search history! Oh man, I'm such a genius!"

"How's my search history if you don't mind me asking?" One would think Jun would feel a bit distressed from having someone go through her search history, but she isn't. Instead, she's just curious as to what Ryuuji thinks because she  _knows_  he  _ **saw**_.

"Well…" A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Ryuuji's face. "You sure like maids…is that really your thing? I can understand the cats and maybe even the interest in curry, but maids?"

"Don't make me go through  _your_  search history—because I will." Jun isn't going to take this shit from anybody.

"I ain't talkin' shit—I'm just surprised." Ryuuji honestly wasn't expecting it. "I'm not tryin' to judge either, but…you seem like the type to like butlers."

"I  _do_  like butlers," Jun says. "But maids are number one to me."

"I'll keep that in mind." At least Ryuuji knows he can trust Jun with these sort of things… "Anyways, let's try usin' the app."

"But I don't know how." Jun's still not sure  _why_  she even has that app in the first place.

Ryuuji grins widely as he taps on the screen a few times. "Then I'll do it."

" _ **Kamoshida…Shujin High…Pervert…Castle…Beginning navigation."**_  The voice that speaks out from the app is the same one from yesterday.

"There we go!" Ryuuji exclaims ecstatically. "Then, we went in a certain direction, and—"

"Ryuuji!" Jun cuts him off as she grabs onto his blazer and tugs.

Ryuuji sighs and looks away from the phone's screen. "What's wrong—what the hell?!"

He almost didn't notice it at first, with how fixated he was on Jun's phone. Now that she's gotten his attention, he can see the strange, rose-colored hue tinting his vision. He looks left to right and then looks at Jun's phone. His eyes widen when he sees that there's something very wrong.

The app's creepy icon flashes from red to white to red against a black background. Static causes the image to grow more and more distorted each time that it flares up, until finally, the screen goes completely red. Distortions ripple outwards, twisting the environment around Shujin High.

Seconds quickly pass and Ryuuji yells out when Shujin High takes on a completely different appearance.

"Look! It's the castle from yesterday!" Ryuuji is far too excited to stay still, his body shaking vigorously from the amount of energy he can barely contain. He runs across the drawbridge, too impatient to wait for Jun to say or do anything. He ends up dragging her along, since she's still attached to his blazer.

Ryuuji really doesn't take note of that until they've made it across the drawbridge. He looks sheepishly at her when he realizes what he's done, considering how frazzled she looks from being dragged along so unwillingly. He's about to apologize to her when he notices her clothes.

"Those clothes again!" He's almost forgotten about that…

Jun blinks and then looks at herself. "Ah…I guess you caught me  _red-handed_."

Ryuuji makes a face. "Dude,  _no_ —don't be that person!"

Jun only laughs as she adjusts one of her red gloves. Something about the action makes her feel so much at ease.

"What's with that outfit anyways?" Ryuuji scratches his head as he looks closely at Jun. He's not too aware of the potential implications behind his gaze until Jun winks at him. His face then heats up with a blush when he realizes that he was kinda checking her out (it sure  _looked_  like he was). "Shit!"

"Not bad, huh?" Jun flashes Ryuuji a playful smile that turns him into a sputtering mess.

"You  _like_  it?!" he blurts out.

Jun just shrugs. "It's not so bad."

"Why am I even surprised?" Ryuuji sighs. "You wore cat tights with your uniform the other day."

Jun narrows her eyes. "You implying that my sense of fashion is off?"

Ryuuji rubs his nose. "Maybe… _pfft_!"

He laughs at the look that Jun suddenly gives him. She just looks so offended. He didn't expect a girl with such unruly hair to actually be interested in fashion. It's cute, actually.

"I'm just messin' with you." Ryuuji reaches down to ruffle Jun's hair. "Don't take it so personally…you smell nice, by the way."

"Thanks…for smelling me." A smile tugs at her lips when she sees Ryuuji hastily trying to explain himself, because  _oh_ _ **god**_ , he wasn't trying to be creepy!

"I swear!" he insists.

"I'm just messing with you!" Jun echoes Ryuuji's earlier words, earning herself a light shove from Ryuuji. She starts laughing, prompting Ryuuji to do the same shortly after.

"Hey!" a familiar voice calls out to them.

Ryuuji and Jun stop laughing to look the source of the voice. It's Morgana—and they seem rather miffed.

"Stop making a commotion," Morgana hisses, their fur bristling.

"Ah… _you_!" Ryuuji remembers them…and how difficult their name rolled off his tongue.

"The Shadows started acting up, so I came here wondering what it could be…" Morgana frowns. "To think you guys would come back to the entrance when you barely managed to escape."

"Hey—what is this place?" Ryuuji asks. "Is it the school?"

Morgana blinks. "That's right."

"But it's a castle!" Ryuuji blurts out.

"This castle  _is_ the school," Morgana says. "But only to this castle's ruler."

Jun tilts her head to the side. "Ruler…?"

Morgana nods their head. "I believe Blondie called him Kamoshida?"

"Goddammit, it's  _Ryuuji_!" Ryuuji scowls at Morgana, who doesn't seem to care at all.

"It's how his distorted heart views the school," Morgana continues.

Ryuuji furrows his brow. "Distorted…heart? Explain it in a way that makes sense!"

It's a bit too vague for him to wrap his head around. As for Jun…she's just as confused, but also rather distracted by Morgana's paws. She noticed a flash of pink in their paws and is pleasantly surprised to see that they have pink paw pads.

" _I wanna touch them…!"_ She wants to see for herself if they are really soft.  _"They probably are…"_

But she still wants to touch.

"I shouldn't have expected a moron to get it…" Morgana frowns.

"What'd you say?!" Ryuuji's temper flares up, his face contorted into a scowl.

Morgana never gets a chance to repeat themself—a loud scream interrupts them before they can say anything else. They barely manage to bite back a startled meow, but there's not much they can do about their puffed up tail except hide it out of sight behind their back.

"What was that?!" Morgana is fortunate enough that Ryuuji is far too rattled to make any comments about their tail.

"It must be the slaves captive here…" Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Jun, who has her gaze focused entirely on Morgana. It takes them a moment, but Morgana quickly realizes that Jun is staring at them. There's this strange look in her eyes that Morgana can't discern, but something about it makes them feel… _bashful_.  _"K-Keep it together, Morgana!"_

"This isn't some sick joke, right?" Ryuuji flinches as another scream reaches his ears. Memories from yesterday quickly flood his head, reminding him just how unpleasantly  _real_  everything is. "Shit, shit, shit,  _shit_ —it really  _is_  for real!"

It really only hits him now, in ways that make his body quiver in fear, that he's actually  _scared_. He's scared of things going so wrong, as it had yesterday. And yet, despite it all, he still manages to ignore the voice in his head that screams at him to leave before shit hits the fan.

"We saw other guys held captive here yesterday…" Ryuuji  _can't_  forget about them—his conscience won't let him. "I'm pretty sure they're from our school."

"Are they?" Jun finally looks away from Morgana.

"You know how I said that I've seen what they were wearing before?" At the time, he was too flustered to think clearly—but not anymore. "That's because those are Shujin's jerseys."

Ryuuji has worn his far too many times to mistake it for anything else. Of course, he doesn't expect Jun to know since she's still new to Shujin. Though, after tomorrow, she'll likely have it committed to memory.

"Make sure you have yours tomorrow—you're gonna need it for that shitty volleyball rally." Ryuuji is  _not_  looking forward to it…

"Thanks for reminding me." Jun almost forgot about it, because the last she ever heard of it was from Shibi, who told her that he didn't have any time to take it out of its packaging. It's likely buried underneath so many of her belongings in that cardboard box of hers.  _"I definitely need to go through that box when I get back…"_

That's assuming nothing goes wrong…

" _Positive thoughts!"_ she thinks to herself as she adjusts her gloves.  _"Positive thoughts…"_

It's…a lot harder to think so optimistically when there are people screaming in the background.

"Those guys are most likely being held captive on Kamoshida's orders." Morgana stretches out their body in a cat-like manner. "It's nothing out of the ordinary—I've been here long enough to know that it's like that every day."

It's disturbing, but there's not much Morgana can do.

"What's more, you two escaped yesterday." Morgana remembers seeing Kamoshida's guards looking just about  _everywhere_  for Jun and Ryuuji. "He must've lost his temper quite a bit."

Ryuuji clicks his tongue. "I wouldn't be surprised, considering what Jun and I did to that son of a bitch."

"No wonder he's still looking for you two…" Morgana makes a face. "Do I even want to know what happened?"

"I threatened to castrate him," Jun says unabashedly, causing Morgana's fur to bristle up in shock.

"Wh-What?!" Morgana can't believe what they're hearing—from  _Jun_ , of all people.

"I wish you  _had_." Ryuuji's blood boils at the memory he has of Kamoshida hurting Jun. "That'll make him think twice about pervin' on school girls…fucking sicko."

It pisses him off that Kamoshida could do something so  _disgusting_  without any regrets. As if what he did last year wasn't despicable enough…

"That son of a bitch…!" Ryuuji can't wait to expose that asshole for what he really is…

"Ryuuji…?" Morgana frowns. It's rather concerning how angry Ryuuji is getting, with the way his body is shaking. Then, without any warning, he suddenly lunges towards the door. "Ryuuji!"

"Ryuuji,  _stop_ —you're going to hurt your arm!" Jun winces when Ryuuji slams his body forcefully against the door.

_BAM!_

Ryuuji ignores the pain he feels in his right arm. It hurts, but compared to the throbbing in his right thigh—it's nothing. Just the fact that there's such a difference in the pain he feels from the impact pisses him off. He knows it's not normal and he's got Kamoshida to thank for it.

"You're gonna regret everything, Kamoshida!" he yells, his voice nearly cracking under the strain of his own emotions. "You hear me?!"

"Doing that isn't going to open it, you know…" Morgana sighs inwardly. "Still, it seems you have your reasons."

"Damn straight…" Ryuuji reaches down to rub at his right thigh. The pain is almost unbearable that he's seconds away from pulling out the painkillers he has in his schoolbag. He refrains from doing so, mainly out of spite and because the last thing he needs is Jun worrying about him.  _"She needs to worry more about herself…"_

And yet, here she is—just looking him over for any injuries. He sighs shakily when she starts feeling his arm for any abnormalities. Although, after about a minute, it becomes quite clear to him that she's feeling the muscles in his arm. Ryuuji would honestly feel flattered if they were in any other situation than this. Instead, he's mostly amused and laughs when he surprises Jun by flexing his arm so suddenly.

"You're fine!" she says after lightly swatting his arm. She tries not to seem so flustered and only manages, thanks to her mask obscuring part of her face.

"Hey, Monamona!" Ryuuji doesn't even bother trying to say Morgana's actual name.

As a result, Morgana narrows their eyes angrily at Ryuuji. "It's  _Morgana_!"

Ryuuji ignores Morgana's correction and proceeds to ask, "Do you know where those voices are comin' from…?"

"You want me to take you to them?" Morgana furrows their brow. They turn to Jun, taking note of her attire and mask as she fidgets with her gloves. "…Well, I guess I could guide you there. But only if she comes with us."

Jun immediately looks at Morgana. "Huh?! Why me?"

"Uhh…" Ryuuji isn't so sure that he wants to put Jun in such a position. It makes him feel rather awkward because really, she has no reason to stick around and risk her life.

"I just want to get a better look at your powers," Morgana replies. "Even if you don't agree, I bet this guy'll go on even if he has to do it alone. Are you gonna leave him?"

Ryuuji hates the way Morgana phrased that. He almost reaches down to flick their nose when Jun suddenly says, "I never said that."

Morgana jumps up. "It's settled then!"

"For real…?!" Ryuuji feels so elated that he smiles for a moment. Then he stops and reaches down to ruffle Jun's hair. It's an affectionate gesture—one that's all he can really do for her at the moment. "Thanks, man…"

He owes her big time for the favor she's going to do for him…

"It's fine!" she tells him, though Ryuuji feels that it isn't.

"Alright, let's do this!" Morgana grins widely. "Follow me!"

Morgana leads Ryuuji and Jun over to the ventilation shaft they used the other day to escape from the castle. Morgana holds their paws together and swings them once from left to right before looking up at the two teenagers.

"This is our infiltration point," they explain.

"Ain't that where we escaped outta last time…?" Ryuuji pretends that he doesn't remember ever talking to Jun about her striped panties.

"The very same—but I don't think you have to worry about Frizzy Hair's panties this time." Morgana laughs when Ryuuji starts sputtering. Call it payback for bundling them up in his blazer, Morgana just isn't the type to let stuff like that go by them like that.

"It's  _not_  frizzy," Jun firmly says, feeling rather annoyed.

" _Anyways_ —not barging in through the entrance is one of the basics of phantom thievery." Morgana decides that they've messed around long enough.

Ryuuji runs his hands through his hair. "How're we supposed to know about that stuff…?"

Morgana resists the urge to call Ryuuji an amateur. Instead, they jump on top of a barrel that's almost as tall as Ryuuji. They jump again, using the barrel's height to give them an easy boost into the ventilation shaft. They move so fast, that all Ryuuji and Jun can see is a black blur.

"I'll make sure to teach you as we go," Morgana says. They beckon at the two with a white paw, motioning at them to follow. "Come on, follow me!"

Morgana disappears into the shaft, leaving Ryuuji and Jun alone. Ryuuji looks sheepishly at Jun as he rubs the back of his head.

"So, uhh…sorry for draggin' you into all of this…" Ryuuji remembers Jun saying that she wanted to go home. "I just…I just can't forgive that bastard Kamoshida doin' whatever the hell he wants!"

It pisses him off  _so_  much…

"Really though, thanks for comin' along." Ryuuji smiles widely at Jun. "I owe you big time!"

Jun just smiles back at Ryuuji. Truth be told, she has as much of a bone to pick with Kamoshida as Ryuuji. At the same time, she can't just let Ryuuji go on his own—she's responsible for whatever happens to him because it  _was_  her app that brought them here.

"I'm going in first!" she tells him. She remembers the difficulty he had the other day because of his leg. And even if she is smaller than him, she feels that she can still help out—just so long as he actually  _lets_  her.

Before Ryuuji can protest, Jun goes about doing what Morgana did to get into the ventilation shaft. She does it quite effortlessly, too, and at a speed that seems almost inhuman. All Ryuuji can do is just  _stare_  when Jun calls out to him.

It takes him a total of five minutes to make it into the ventilation shaft—and that's with help from Jun. He feels no shame, despite how Morgana admonishes him for being such an amateur. He doesn't really care—he just wants to know how Jun was able to do it like it was nothing.

"I just can," is all she says.

Ryuuji sighs heavily and just shoves his hands into his pockets. He left his schoolbag behind for reasons the inability to afford a replacement on such a short notice. He has no idea what happened to Jun's bag, but it's not really anything that he considers important enough to discuss. Instead, he just checks his pockets to make sure that he has everything he needs on him.

Unbeknownst to Jun and Morgana, Ryuuji has a bottle of painkillers in one of his pockets, as well as a little something… _extra_. He bought it purely out of impulse while he was in Shibuya yesterday. He figures that it should help in some way, but for now…he'll just keep quiet about it.

"Man, this place is as creepy as always." Ryuuji looks warily at their surroundings.

"Mm-hm." Morgana nods their head. "Now, make sure you do exactly as I say, alright? Now…follow me!"

Morgana runs ahead of the two teenagers, not bothering at all to slow down for them. Jun can keep up just fine, but Ryuuji has some issues due to a slight limp that he has. Morgana noticed it the other day, when Ryuuji was carrying them in his arms. It's concerning, but not enough for Morgana to draw any attention to it.

And yet, that doesn't stop Morgana from waiting for them to catch up. They stand in the center of the entrance hall, with their arms crossed over their chest. Their tail flicks left to right in slight annoyance. They're used to going at a much faster pace, but with these two—Morgana doesn't have much of a choice but to slow down for their sake.

"Hey…" Ryuuji looks up at the chandelier that's above them. "We went by here when we came in the front…"

"Whoa!" Jun takes a step back in shock.

For a brief moment, the entrance hall takes on a familiar, yet far less glamorous appearance. Save for the pillars made out of marble, the candles lighting the hallway, and the red carpet beneath their feet, everything else resembles Shujin's entrance. Then the entrance hall reverts back to its previous appearance, looking ostentatious as ever.

"What the hell…?!" Ryuuji rubs his eyes. "I was seein' double or something just now…! Was that Shujin?!"

"I think I saw the student store just now…" It was empty, but Jun knows what she saw—it's hard to forget the sight, considering the obscene amount of bread she bought during lunchtime today. Not the best idea she's ever had, though it's a lot less embarrassing than the shenanigans that ensued afterwards as a result of her shameless lack of self-control and poor spending habits. At the very least, she didn't accidentally buy out the student store like she had a vending machine with all of its drinks.  _"No one must ever know…"_

Though she's pretty sure that blue-haired classmate of hers saw, since he was the last person to use the vending machine before her. She's also quite certain that he felt the cans and bread in her schoolbag when she bumped into him a while earlier…

" _I hope I didn't hurt him…"_ That'd be embarrassing…

"I've told you before—this place is your school!" Morgana reminds them. "Regardless, we don't have the time to stand around. Who knows when a Shadow might show up. Come on, this way!"

…

…

The three manage to make it down into the underground dungeon without any issues. It is surprisingly devoid of any guards, although it doesn't last long. Eventually, they come across an armored knight in their way that's on patrol. The knight scans the area for anything that stands out before turning around and walking forward a few steps. It then repeats its actions in a manner that's quite inconvenient for Morgana, Ryuuji, and Jun.

"Darn…I had a feeling there would be guards here…" Morgana makes a face. They're watching the knight from a distance, alongside Jun and Ryuuji. They think for a moment…and then sigh in defeat. "It looks like we won't be able to avoid conflict from this point forward."

"F-For real…?" Ryuuji's eyes widen. Shit…he was hoping to avoid any conflict today. He  _really_  owes Jun big time for this…

"Oh well." Morgana sighs again. "I'll just teach you the basics of battle—Jun, what are you doing?!"

Jun runs off before Morgana can even begin their explanation. She's fast enough to reach the knight before it has a chance to turn around, having heard Morgana's outburst. She pulls out her dagger and strikes the knight before it can even react. Immediately, its body turns into a puddle of red slime that soon transforms into a floating jack-o'-lantern.

The jack-o'-lantern laughs mischievously as it lunges forward to attack Jun with its lantern. Jun jumps back and evades the attack. She quickly follows up with an attack of her own and manages to use her dagger's sharp blade to slice deeply into the jack-o'-lantern's face.

Morgana watches the scene before them with wide eyes. From the looks of it, Jun can get by without any issues…although, she still has a lot to learn if she thinks she can get by doing just that. And just as Morgana thinks that, a surprisingly strong sucker punch manages to knock Jun flat on her ass.

_Thud!_

" **I'm mad!"** the jack-o'-lantern exclaims. It's winding up for another attack and rather than take her chances in escaping (she doubts she'll be fast enough to even try), Jun tries to summon Arsène instead.

It…doesn't go as smoothly as she expected it to go. No matter how hard she tugs, her mask just  _won't_  come off!

"Dammit!" she swears through clenched teeth.

" _ **You cannot summon me in such a vulnerable state—brace yourself!"**_ Arsène warns her.

" _Just my luck…"_ Jun prepares herself for the Shadow's incoming attack. It's going to hurt, but at least she knows Morgana can heal her…

Of course, thanks to Ryuuji's panic-stricken impulses, there's absolutely no need for that. Because the exact moment he saw that Jun was about to get attacked, he picked Morgana up by the scruff of their neck and hurled them in the direction of Jun and the jack-o'-lantern. He was hoping that it would distract the Shadow long enough for Jun to escape.

And it manages to do just that, because the jack-o'-lantern stops what it's doing to look away from Jun. Disbelief soon crosses its expression as it realizes that there's a screaming cat headed its way.

"Zorro!" Morgana shrieks loudly, their arms and legs flailing about in the air. Their Persona appears behind them within seconds and manages—just  _barely_ —to catch his user in time. He grasps them gently by the scruff of their neck, causing Morgana to go limp in his hold. It takes Morgana a second, but they quickly notice just how close they are to the jack-o'-lantern.

" **Ho?"**  it innocently says.

Morgana sputters out an incoherent string of words that sounds more like distressed meowing than anything else. Their tail puffs up visibly out of fright, as does the rest of their fur. The jack-o'-lantern just stares as Morgana and Zorro for a moment…and then starts laughing.

" **Kitty's really scared, huh, hee ho?!"**  It laughs so distinctively, in a manner that Jun's never heard of before. She'd almost find it cute, if it weren't for the fact that she nearly got owned by a fucking pumpkin.

A loud growl begins to rumble in the back of Morgana's throat. After all that has happened, they no longer feel scared, but  _enraged_. "GARU!"

A burst of green-colored wind finishes off the jack-o'-lantern while it is still laughing. For a brief moment, its laughter turns into pained screams and then, there's just silence…

"I'm not a cat…" Morgana spats.

Zorro refrains from releasing his user until he's certain that Morgana has calmed down. Afterwards, he releases them…and then promptly sends a weak blast of green-colored wind in Ryuuji's direction.

"What the fuck?!" he yells.

"You didn't have to throw me like that!" Morgana hisses angrily at Ryuuji.

"I was panicking, okay?!" Ryuuji has never been known to act rationally under pressure, when his impulses were likely to take control.

"As for you—what the hell, Jun?!" Morgana looks sternly at Jun, who just smiles back as though nothing wrong had happened. "Why're you smiling?"

"You finally used my name!" she replies far too happily.

Morgana yells out in frustration. They're seconds away from swatting Jun out of anger when Zorro reaches down and picks them up by the scruff of their neck. "Put me down—I'm not a cat!"

Zorro refuses. There's this faint aura emanating from Jun's body—one that feels rather… _cursed_. Morgana might be too enraged to notice, but Zorro isn't and the last thing he ever wants to do is let his user incur the wrath of Arsène. He's seen what Arsène is perfectly capable of and would prefer to keep Morgana from  _ever_  being on the receiving end of Arsène's destructive powers.

So while Zorro waits for Morgana to cool off, he calmly watches Ryuuji make his way over to Jun. He helps her stand up and asks if she's okay. When she says yes, he promptly flicks her on the nose.

"Ow!" She immediately covers her nose with both hands.

" _Why_  did you do that?" Ryuuji nearly had a heart attack!

"I was just listening to Arsène!" Jun was only doing as she was told…

"Then you should've waited for me to tell you how to land a preemptive attack!" Morgana shrieks, their fur bristling. "You're suppose to rip off their masks! That's how you can momentarily break the control the Palace ruler has on them! If you do it right, it leaves them wide open for an attack!"

…

…

"Oops…" Jun feels her face heating up with a blush when she hears Arsène apologizing to her. "I guess…neither of us knew that."

"Well, what's done is done!" Ryuuji speaks up. "There's no use in bein' mad over something like this—I mean, is this really the time and place for this?!"

…

"I guess not…" Morgana frowns. It really only hits them now that they've acted a bit irrationally out of anger. It's rather embarrassing, actually. "Sorry about that…"

In Jun's defense, she had the right idea…just terrible luck. And though Ryuuji meant well, Morgana still isn't going to be forgiving him anytime soon.

"Let's just consider this a learning experience." It's better this way—because now they all have a good idea on what  _not_  to do. "Alright, Zorro—let's heal up!"

It takes less than a minute for Zorro to cast Dia on everyone. Even though Jun was the only one actually in need of any healing, Zorro still casts Dia on Ryuuji and Morgana anyways. He's not taking any chances…

It's only then that he finally sets Morgana down. He gives his user a few pats on the head before taking his leave in a burst of blue flames. Afterwards, Morgana sighs loudly in exasperation.

"Finally!" they say.

Zorro's overly cautious behavior is not anything that Morgana can control. It's annoying, but it's just something that Morgana has to accept. At the very least, Zorro's unnecessarily excessive healing is within their limits.

"By the by—don't rely on your Persona too much," Morgana warns Jun. "Skills require an exchange of energy in order to be used. Magic skills, like Eiha, will drain you of your energy and while it's tiring, it's mostly harmless…"

"Are you seriously sayin' that Jun was using  _magic_?!" Ryuuji can't believe what he's hearing—from a talking cat, no less! "Ugh, this is so unreal…"

Jun can't help but laugh at Ryuuji's comment. It's a bit of an understatement, but that's not what she finds funny. Rather, it's the fact that after all that has happened, the existence of  _magic_  is what's finally tripping him up.

"You're just gonna have to get used to it." Morgana crosses their arms over their chest. "Moving on to physical skills—those are the ones you need to be careful about using too often. Otherwise, you'll collapse…but I don't think you have to worry about that just yet."

From the looks of it, Arsène hasn't yet figured out how to combine his own strength with Jun's. Though, it's only a matter of time at this rate.

"As a heads-up, you must always be in a clear and conscious state in order to summon your Persona." Morgana recalls the difficulty Jun was having in ripping off her mask. "To clarify, it's because you gotta have some control over the situation. Obviously, there's no need for that if you've already summoned your Persona…did you get it all down?"

"Got it." Jun will try not to make the same mistake again.

"Is that it?" Ryuuji asks somewhat impatiently. He's long since lost track of the conversation. He's tried to keep up, but there's only so much he can take in before his attention span decides that it's done enough work.

Morgana nods their head. "Yeah…let's go, then! This way!"

Morgana leads them further into the dungeon. They're far more fortunate this time around in avoiding any more guards. Although, there's not much to avoid if there aren't any guards to begin with…and alongside that, there is something off about it all. It really only hits Ryuuji when he sees an empty prison cell—it's too damn quiet now.

"Why ain't anybody here?!" Ryuuji runs up to the empty cell. He grits his teeth and stomps his left foot onto the floor. "Dammit, they were here before! Where'd they go?!"

"Quiet down!" Morgana hisses. "We're lucky that we haven't run into any more Shadows, but it really doesn't do us any good if you can't keep your voice down!"

Ryuuji runs his hand through his hair. "Sorry—I can be pretty loud without meanin' to…oh yeah! There were more of 'em further in too…!"

He runs off without any warning, leaving Morgana and Jun behind. Morgana just sighs in exasperation and turns to Jun.

"They might have been transferred already…" they say.

Jun furrows her brow. "Why?"

"I don't know…" Whatever it is, Morgana has a rather bad feeling about it.

"Crap, crap, crap, craaaaap!" And it looks like Ryuuji is back. He runs all the way back to them, eyes wide and teeth clenched. "I can hear footsteps comin'! Lots of 'em—whoa!"

_Thud!_

Ryuuji suppresses a yelp when he trips and lands flat on his face. He grits his teeth, reaching down to rub at his right thigh. The temptation to pull out the bottle of painkillers in his pocket is high, but he  _knows_  he has to save them for something more serious than this.

"Are you okay?!" Jun rushes over to Ryuuji's side. It's not that difficult for her to help him stand up, though Ryuuji is pretty baffled at how easily she does it. She's a lot stronger than she appears…

"We should go!" Morgana says. "It would be a problem if those Shadows discovered us now…"

A nearby sound makes their ears perk up. Morgana turns to face a door right by them. It looks like any other door they've seen down here, but Morgana knows better than that. They dash over to the door and open it. Carefully, they peer inside before motioning at Ryuuji and Jun to come closer.

"Hey, let's head into this room!" Morgana tells them. "We should be able to hide in here until they leave—now hurry up!"

…

The instant that they're all inside the room, Jun takes to keeping a close eye on the door— _just in case_. She's armed and ready for any Shadow that might come through the door. Meanwhile with Morgana, they hop on top of the table in the center of the room and stretch out their body. Nearby, Ryuuji hunches over with his hands on top of his knees as he tries to catch his breath.

"The Shadows probably won't come in here," Morgana says. "So I'd try to relax if I were you, Jun."

Ryuuji looks at Morgana, gasping and panting. "H-How…How can you tell?"

"There's a lack of distortion here, meaning the ruler's control over this area is weak," Morgana explains.

As if to prove their point, the room's appearance takes on that of classroom for a few seconds. It happens in a manner similar to when they were all in the entrance hall earlier.

"Is this a classroom…?!" Ryuuji's eyes widen.

Morgana holds their paws together and swings them once from left to right. "Now do you understand? This place is another reality that the ruler's heart projects."

"This is Kamoshida's reality…?" Ryuuji furrows his brow. What Morgana said just now—it doesn't want to stick. "Shit makes no sense at all!"

"One could say it's a world in which one's distorted desires have materialized." Morgana tries to remain calm, despite how Ryuuji's lack of comprehension grates on their nerves. "I call such a place a 'Palace.'"

"A Palace…?" Ryuuji frowns.

"This is happening because he thinks the school is his own castle." Morgana hopes that this is enough of an explanation for it to finally sink into Ryuuji's head.

And just like that, Ryuuji is able to connect the dots. "So, it became like this 'cause he just thought of it like that?!"

Morgana grins. "Exactly!"

Jun sighs inwardly in relief. For a second there, she almost thought that Morgana was going to snap at Ryuuji. It's quite a lot of information to dump on a person in one go. Even Jun was having a hard time processing the information herself. It took a few tries, but Morgana finally got through to Ryuuji… _hopefully_.

"Hahaha…" Ryuuji laughs halfheartedly, his face quickly contorting into a scowl. "That son of a bitch!"

"You must really hate this Kamoshida guy." Morgana places their paws on their hips.

"Hate doesn't even cover how I  _feel_ ," Ryuuji growls. "Everything is that asshole's fault!"

Jun frowns. She has her own issues with Kamoshida, but Ryuuji…it seems to go farther than what happened yesterday. She doesn't know what it is, but…  _"I have a bad feeling about this…"_

"I don't know what happened between you two, but don't let your emotions get the better of you," Morgana warns Ryuuji. They know Ryuuji's type, based on how he's acted so far. Ryuuji can  _easily_ jeopardize their infiltration if his emotions aren't kept in check. "His lackeys are everywhere inside…"

"Unfortunately…" Jun exhales shakily as she peers out into the hallway. She can't see anyone—but she knows better than to immediately think that the coast is clear. Call it her anxiety screaming at her, just telling her of the various ways that shit can go wrong.

"Hey—you're curious about your outfit, aren't you?" Morgana decides to change the subject for Jun's sake. They've noticed how anxious she's gotten and it really wouldn't do any of them any good if she stays like this. It's just a disaster waiting to happen at this rate, if Ryuuji's temper doesn't make it happen first.  _"Geez, these two sure are a troublesome pair…"_

"Yeah, I'm curious as hell about it too." Ryuuji's attention quickly turns to Jun as she looks at herself.

Morgana grins. "That's also because of this world."

"More stuff that makes no sense…" Ryuuji frowns.

"Anything distorts according to how a ruler pleases with their Palace," Morgana explains, ignoring Ryuuji's comment. If they can get it through his head once, then they can do it again. And if not Ryuuji, then at least Jun, because she seems to understand what they're saying. "A school can turn into a castle like this, after all. In order to prevent such distortions, one must hold a powerful will of rebellion. Your appearance is a manifestation of that."

"Really?" Jun looks at herself again, taking a moment to tug down on one of her gloves. "So why this look in particular?"

It's not bad or anything, it's just…maybe a  _bit_  strange.

"It's the image of rebellion that you hold within." It's not what Morgana would expect from such a short girl with unruly hair, but they guess anything is possible.

"Huh…" Looks like Jun only has herself to blame for her outfit's appearance.  _"Should've thought twice about it then…"_

The one thing that's starting to worry her is the length of her coattails. One wrong step is all that it would take for her to trip and fall.

" _I'll just have to be more careful then…"_ At least until she's used to it, which hopefully won't take too long…

"Uuugh, I'm so fed up with this!" Ryuuji can't contain his frustration any longer. It bugs him that Jun can understand Morgana so easily, when he was still trying to figure out what they meant by all that. He taps his foot impatiently on the floor as his face contorts into a scowl. "I'm more curious about you than her clothes! What the hell are you anyways?!"

Morgana's fur bristles. "I'm a human—an honest-to-god human!"

"Human…?" Jun tilts her head to the side.

Ryuuji furrows his brow. He's just about reached his limit with this… "No, you're obviously more like a cat!"

"This is, well…!" Morgana frowns. "It's because I lost my true form…I think."

"You think?" Ryuuji's not so sure if he believes them.

"But I do know how to regain my true form." Morgana's frown is quickly replaced with a smile. "The reason why I snuck in here was for a preliminary investigation of those means."

"You got caught though," Jun bluntly says.

"It's not my fault though—I just…got shocked." Morgana cringes at the mere memory of when they discovered their weakness to Zio skills. "It  _really_  hurt a lot…but not as much as what Kamoshida put me through."

A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Ryuuji's face. "Wh-What…what did he do to you?"

Morgana cringes again. "I…don't wanna to talk about it."

They're only so fortunate that they have Dia under their repertoire. Otherwise…they try not to think too much about it.

"I'm gonna make him pay, though—he's gonna regret ever crossing me!" A loud growl rumbles in the back of Morgana's throat.

"What is this, a comic book?" Ryuuji can't help but say, because really, it's like something out of a comic book. "This is seriously crazy…"

Jun snorts. "You'll live."

"Shaddup." Ryuuji huffs, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, if we're gonna keep going, we should hurry along," Morgana says. "I'll be counting on your skills this time too, rookie. Got it?"

Jun tries to pretend that her anxiety didn't just spike up. "Got it!"

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna force it all on you," Ryuuji reassures Jun. He smiles at her when she looks at him. "I thought it might help, so…I brought this just in case!"

"Ryuuji,  _please_  tell me you didn't do anything illegal." Jun stares wide-eyed at the gun that Ryuuji just pulled out of his pocket.

"Relax!" Ryuuji chuckles. "It's just a model gun, so it only makes sounds."

Morgana scowls. "That's a toy!"

"But it looks totally real!" Ryuuji grins widely as he takes aim at Morgana. He laughs when their tail suddenly puffs up. "See?! It'll at least fake 'em out."

Morgana only growls at Ryuuji, clearly annoyed that they were used to prove Ryuuji's point.

"Where'd you get it?" Jun asks as she takes a closer look at the fake gun in Ryuuji's hand. It really does look real—like it's the actual thing.

"This airsoft shop in Shibuya—ya want me to take you there?" Ryuuji doesn't mind showing her around. "A bit of a warning—the owner's kinda…scary. Like the last thing you should do is piss him off."

Jun brushes off Ryuuji's warning. "I've pissed off worse."

"Dude…do I even want to know?" Ryuuji feels a lot more uncomfortable when he recalls the rumors about Jun's compensated dating record.

"Depends—do you  _want_  to know?" Jun tilts her head as she stares at Ryuuji. There's a certain look in her eye that seems sinisterly dark, as though whatever she has to say isn't anything he wants to know. She laughs upon seeing him shudder, her eyes practically gleaming with mirth. "Did I  _scare_  you?"

"N-No—shaddup!" Ryuuji frowns. "You looked creepy, okay?"

"Nyahahaha, that's what you get!" Morgana grins widely as they bounce up and down in place.

"Whatever!" Ryuuji huffs. He guesses that he deserved that…though, why does it feel like he's forgotten something? "Oh yeah—I brought some medicine too!"

He pulls out the bottle of painkillers from his other pocket.

"You know what they say: 'Providin' is pre…something.'" He forgets how the phrase goes, but it doesn't really matter. What  _does_  matter is that the medicine he brought actually has its uses. After all, Morgana won't be able to heal anyone if they can't summon Zorro… "Huh? Huh?"

He looks eagerly at Morgana and Jun, hoping for some sort of compliment for remembering  _something_  from Morgana's explanation. It's not a lot, but Ryuuji got the important stuff down. He freezes still when Jun suddenly pats his back a few times.

"You're cute too, you know?" Jun's smile just about  _kills_  Ryuuji right then.

"Ahaha…haha…" All he can do is laugh so bashfully as his face turns a dark shade of red. It's the last thing he expects to hear from anyone who isn't his mom. It's…really nice, actually. "Thanks."

"So you  _were_  planning this from the start…" Morgana sighs in exasperation. It's a good thing that Jun came along, then, otherwise… "Whatever—it's fine! If you're ready to go, we'll resume our infiltration."

Ryuuji nods his head and promptly hands Jun the model gun. "I think it'll suit you just fine."

"A pistol, huh?" It feels heavy in her hands—but not as heavy as it should probably be.  _"Figures, since it's a fake."_

It's a well-made fake, of course—but a fake nonetheless.

"I'll just keep these on me," Ryuuji says as he pockets the bottle of painkillers. "It's not much, but it should help if you're hurtin', yeah? At least until Monamona can heal you…"

"That's  _Morgana_!" Morgana swiftly corrects Ryuuji.

"Whatever!" Ryuuji waves his hand.

Morgana muffles a growl. They dash over to the door and listen closely to any sounds coming from the hallway. "Hmm…there guards in the hallway right now—oh, they're talking about the slaves!"

"What of it?!" Ryuuji blurts out.

"Shh!" Jun uses her free hand to cover Ryuuji's mouth. "They're listening…"

Ryuuji blinks, his eyes wide. He almost says something, but stops and then nods his head.

Morgana furrows their brow. "Hmm…they're in—they're in the training hall! I know where that is!"

"Take us there!" Ryuuji exclaims, just seconds after pulling Jun's hand off his mouth.

"Geez…you don't have to yell." Morgana makes a face.

"Oh…oh, crap." A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Ryuuji's face. He releases Jun's hand and gives her a few reassuring pats on the back. "I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"…'s fine…" Jun exhales shakily. "Just…give me a minute."

Ryuuji frowns. She's not fine—she looks way too tense and her voice…it's  _so_  quiet.  _"I did it again…"_

Just like when they first met yesterday, when they came across Shujin while it was looking like this.

"Anyways—I know where the training hall is!" Morgana speaks up. "It's a little further ahead, we just have to…okay, let's go! Move, move,  _move_!"

Morgana pulls open the door and runs out. Ryuuji sputters and looks at Jun, who still doesn't look like she's ready to move. He scratches at his head and then mutters a quick apology. She never has a chance to ask why he's apologizing.

"Hyeek!" Tears spring out in Jun's eyes from shock when Ryuuji suddenly lifts her up and throws her over his shoulder.

"You're lucky you're so small!" Otherwise, this would've been really difficult for Ryuuji and his right leg. "Wait up, Monamona!"

"Dammit, it's  _Morgana_!" Morgana shrieks out. "MO-RU-GA-NA—it's not that hard!"

" _What the actual fuck?!"_ Jun's at an actual loss for words. She opens and closes her mouth a few times before looking at the model gun in her hands.  _"I…okay…okay…"_

She stays absolutely still as Ryuuji follows after Morgana. It's…not uncomfortable, but she'd prefer it if they had  _both_  waited for her instead of bolting.

" _Guess that's a bit too much to ask for now…"_ Jun exhales.  _"Could be worse…"_

Jun regrets  _ever_  thinking that when they come across a knight in their way, less than a minute later. Ryuuji and Morgana stop so abruptly in their tracks that it catches Jun completely by surprise. As a result, a loud yelp escapes from her mouth before she has a chance to suppress it.

And just like that, any chance they had at a preemptive strike goes out the window when the knight turns their way and sees them.

"Shit!" Ryuuji swears loudly.

The knight charges at them at a speed that's far too fast for them to escape. Morgana hisses loudly and swings their sword at the knight, managing to land the first hit before it can attack them.

"Chance!" Morgana exclaims.

The knight twitches and convulses before exploding into a puddle of red slime. The red slime quickly morphs into two identical humanoid creatures with unnaturally pale skin and clear, blue eyes. A wreath of green leaves hangs from their necks and a large, red flower sprouts from the tops of their heads. They have roots in place of hands and feet that, combined with the rest of their features, gives them the appearance of an uprooted flower…with a distinctively  _feminine_  shape.

"What the hell are they?!" Ryuuji makes a face.

"Gallows-Flowers!" Morgana answers before rushing over to attack one of them. They swing their sword at full strength, but miss when the Gallows-Flower jumps back. "I call them that because they  _reek_  of death!"

" **How** _ **rude**_ **, kitty-kitty!"**  the Gallows-Flower remarks in a feminine-sounding voice.  **"It's been months since I've sprouted from the gallows!"**

" **Kitty-cat is probably talking about the your man!"** the other Gallows-Flower laughs.  **"He certainly was not the cleanest of criminals to hang…"**

" **And you're saying yours was?"** the Gallows-Flower snaps back.  **"Puh-** _ **leez**_ **!"**

The other Gallows-Flower never has the chance to defend herself. A blade-like heel stomps down on her head before she can even speak, skewering through her entire body with a disturbing amount of ease.

" **No way!"** the surviving Gallows-Flower shrieks out at a pitch that makes  _everyone_  cringe.  **"You'll** _ **pay**_ **for that!"**

Arsène stares down at the Gallows-Flower, completely unfazed by her threat. He might have wavered once under the ear-splitting pitch of her screams, but that doesn't mean he considers her a threat. He merely shakes off the red slime that stains the blade of one of his shoes.

The Gallows-Flower shrieks again and lunges at Arsène. She misses completely when he jumps up to avoid her attack. Then, using his current position to his advantage, Arsène drops down and lands right on top of the Gallows-Flower. He ignores the pained screams he hears from her when his heels pierce through her body.

"Nyaugh!" Morgana hunches over to flatten their ears as their fur puffs out in distress.

Ryuuji crouches down into a ball, his hands cupped over his ears to block out the sound. A maskless Jun stands by his side, looking somewhat unnerved as she adjusts one of her gloves. The sounds are a bit too much to stomach, but she manages…though, just  _barely_. She gags a few times before putting her mask back on her face.

After about a minute, the shrieks stop and the Gallows-Flower is no more.

"You really couldn't have done that less painfully for the poor thing?" Jun crosses her arms as she looks sternly at Arsène.

" **You should have specified,"** Arsène simply says.  **"Maybe think twice about which opponent of ours we choose to strike with our combined strength for Cleave…"**

"S-So that's what that was…" Morgana groans.  _"It seems I was mistaken…"_

It appears Arsène  _can_  use physical attacks.

"That was  _so_  messed up." Ryuuji rubs his ears. "Think they heard us?"

"Obviously." Morgana makes a face. "Looks like the security level is gonna go up, which means we'll have to be more careful from this point on."

"Why's that?" Jun tilts her head to the side.

"Because the more aware that these guards are of our presence, the more alert they'll become as the security level rises." Morgana crosses their arms over their chest. "It's crucial that we keep the security level below a certain threshold, or else we'll have to leave."

"Seriously?" Ryuuji says.

"Security will be too high for us to sneak by anyone," Morgana explains. "To avoid that, we can't let the enemy see us too much. Alternatively, we can also lower the security level by taking out guards—but we have to land the first hit before they can see us."

"They can't be aware of us if they don't see us." Jun tugs down on one of her gloves and then looks up at Arsène. "We're basically silencing them to keep them from alerting the others of our presence."

"Dude, when you say it like that…it sounds kinda shady." Ryuuji frowns.

"You're not in any position to complain, Ryuuji." Morgana narrows their eyes. "You don't even have a Persona."

"Shaddup!" Ryuuji whines. "You don't gotta rub it in…hey!"

Ryuuji whines again when Arsène suddenly pats him on the head. Jun only laughs, finding his reaction rather adorable. Morgana just sighs and shakes their head.

…

…

Morgana leads them deeper into the dungeon, the lighting going dimmer and the space growing smaller. The sounds of heavy footsteps echo in the distance, prompting them to take extra care to avoid detection from the guards further ahead. Morgana stops walking upon nearing a corner and quickly holds out their paw to stop Ryuuji and Jun.

Due to an oversight on Morgana's behalf, their diminutive size isn't something that they consider an issue until the exact moment that Jun  _almost_  trips over them. That's when Morgana realizes—a bit too late—that getting someone's attention is a lot harder when they aren't vocal.

Luckily, Jun has no issues maintaining her balance. She's about ready to apologize to Morgana when Ryuuji suddenly bumps into her, his weight pushing her forward. He quickly realizes his mistake and slaps his hand over his mouth to muffle a few swears. While it keeps him from making any loud sounds, it does nothing in keeping Jun from toppling over Morgana.

" _Shit, shit, shit!"_ Ryuuji's hands shoot out and grab tightly onto Jun's coattails. He pulls her back with a single, forceful tug and successfully catches her when she falls back.  _"Nailed it!"_

He sighs inwardly in relief and looks at Morgana as they carefully peer out from behind the corner. He wants to ask if they see anything, but stops when he hears a guard talking to what he can only assume is another guard.

" **Hey, have you seen anyone who looks like an intruder?"** It sounds so fucking  _close_.

" **No, nobody yet…"** So really fucking close.

" _How the_ _ **hell**_ _did we avoid gettin' caught this time?!"_  Ryuuji has no idea and he can only take comfort in the fact that he's not the only one whose heart is beating so fast. He pats Jun reassuringly on the shoulder and helps her stand up. It's the least he can do for her after what almost happened…

"We got  _really_  lucky this time." Morgana doesn't hesitate to point out the obvious. "Especially since there are a lot of enemies here. It'd be impossible to dodge all of them…"

"Then, what do we do?" Ryuuji asks. "Should we try and take 'em down like before?"

"We might as well, so we can lower the security level," Jun says.

Morgana shakes their head. "It's easier said than done and while you do have a valid point, we still have a long way to go. So we should be conserving energy. Remember what I said about using your Persona…"

"Right…" Jun sighs.

"I-I see…sorry…" Ryuuji frowns. "Dammit, I wish I could fight… I'd at least be able to help out a little bit…"

"Hey, you brought some medicine—and don't forget about this nifty model gun!" Jun wastes no time in trying to cheer Ryuuji up.

"But it's just a toy…" Ryuuji scratches the back of his head.

"A  _real_  looking toy," Jun points out.

"It's still a toy…" Ryuuji shoves his hands into his pockets. "It looks real n' all, but what use does it have if it doesn't shoot anything?"

…

"Ugh, I'm such a loser…" Ryuuji hates how he has to depend on Jun and Morgana.

"You know, there might be a way…" Morgana's eyes gleam mischievously in the light. "Nyahahaha, let's use that to take down our enemies!"

Ryuuji's eyes widen. "What?! Were you listenin' to me? It don't even shoot pellets…"

" **Who's there?!"** a guard calls out.

"Don't worry, I'm sure this'll work!" Morgana readies their sword. "Attack away, Frizzy Hair!"

"It's  _not_  frizzy!" Jun scowls at Morgana, who just nudges her forward. She jumps out from the corner and uses her dagger to land the first hit on an approaching guard. "I better not regret this, Morgana!"

"Nyahahaha!" Morgana only laughs as they follow after Jun.

"What the hell?!" Ryuuji yells out. "I keep sayin' it's not gonna fire anything!"

"Watch and learn, Ryuuji!" Morgana hops from side to side, watching as the red slime before them takes form into two separate beings—a diminutive, winged girl and a Gallows-Flower. "Use that gun you have—point it at a Shadow and  _fire_!"

Jun hastily pockets her dagger and fumbles a bit with the model gun she pulls out immediately after. She almost drops it, not yet used to handling it under pressure and at the speed the situation urgently calls for. She bites her lip as she holds out the gun and takes to ignoring how awkward it feels in her hands.

The barrel is pointed at the winged girl and Jun's finger is ready on the trigger. She doesn't know what to expect, but when Morgana yells at her to pull the trigger, she does…and out shoots a bullet from the gun's barrel. She stumbles back a bit from the sudden recoil that she wasn't expecting at all.

It's a fake—and yet…

" **Oww, my wing!"** It works exactly like it's the real thing, leaving a bullet-sized hole in the upper right half of the girl's wing. She drops down to the floor, quickly placing her hand over the hole.  **"You're** _ **sooo**_ **mean!"**

"What the…?" Jun looks warily at the gun in her possession.

"How about that?!" Morgana smiles. "Surprised?"

"What the actual fuck?!" Ryuuji blurts out.

"I'll get to explaining it in a bit!" Morgana says. "Right now, just be mindful of how much ammo you have left!"

"Ammo…?" Jun swallows hard when she realizes why the gun in her hand suddenly feels heavier.  _"It's loaded?!"_

Oh,  _fuck_.

"Crap, crap, crap!" Jun goes about activating the pistol's safety and quickly switches out the gun for her dagger. She dashes over to the Gallows-Flower, feeling  _extremely_  uncomfortable about the gun in her pocket. She tries to take her mind off of it by slicing at the Shadow with her dagger. She jumps back to avoid getting slapped in the face with a root-like appendage.

" **I'll make** _ **you**_ **ugly!"** the Gallows-Flower shrieks, her face oozing with a clear substance that covers the blade of Jun's dagger.

"Eww…" Jun sticks her tongue out as she looks at her dagger.

" **How** _ **dare**_ **you!"** The Gallows-Flower raises her hand with the intent of bringing it down on Jun's head.  **"Aaaaaugh!"**

She never has a chance to attack, though… A small, silver-colored ball hits her right in the eye, lodging itself quite painfully into her socket. She screams again when another ball strikes her arm with a sickening  _crack_. It's only after a third ball hits her right in the throat that she suddenly goes quiet…and then she collapses. Her body turns pitch black and dissolves out of existence.

"Huh?" Jun blinks and then flinches when the winged girl screams out in pain as her body is pelted harshly with silver-colored balls.

"It's scary how good I am, huh?" Morgana proudly boasts as they lower the slingshot they hold in their paws. "Nyahaha, bet you weren't expecting that, huh?!"

Jun stares agape at Morgana. "Wh-What…?"

"What the hell kinda ammo is  _that_?" Ryuuji asks.

Morgana holds up a silver-colored ball in their paw. "Steel—very effective against enemies like  _her_  over there!"

The winged girl glowers at Morgana and then points a dainty finger at them.  **"Take that!"**

"Out of the way, Mona!" Ryuuji doesn't know why he's rushing at Morgana so suddenly. All he knows is that something  _feels_  off and the last time they fought against one of those winged girls, Morgana got  _shocked_.  _"Not this time!"_

"That's Morganyaaaaahhhh!" Morgana shrieks out when Ryuuji suddenly lifts them up by the scruff of their neck. Their fur and tail puffs out, a loud hiss escaping their mouth when Ryuuji just barely avoids a bolt of lightning that had intended to strike Morgana.

"Alright!" Ryuuji whoops before throwing Morgana into the air and then catching them as they fall. "Not bad, huh—ouch!"

"Stop handling me so roughly!" Morgana hisses, their claws sinking deeply into Ryuuji's arms. "And it's  _Morgana_!"

"I heard you the first time…" Ryuuji winces. "And c'mon—I saved you there, didn't I? You can at least thank me for that…"

A loud growl rumbles in the back of Morgana's throat, blue eyes narrowed angrily at Ryuuji. A few seconds pass and Morgana retracts their claws. Ryuuji sighs loudly in relief and lets Morgana jump out of his arms.

_Bang!_

Jun flinches from the recoil of her gun. It's going to take her a while to get used to that. She sighs and looks at the Shadow at her feet, grimacing when she sees the bullet in the girl's head. She didn't think it'd be so gruesome…

" _Gross…"_ She didn't want to see  _that_. She activates the safety on her pistol and walks away as the winged girl's body dissolves out of existence. She makes her way over to Ryuuji and taps on his arm a few times. Once she has his attention, Jun hands the gun over to him. "Got about fourteen bullets left in it—make 'em count."

Ryuuji sputters, not knowing what to make of this. He has far too many questions and not enough answers regarding the fact that this fake gun just fired  _real_ bullets. "How the  _fuck_?!"

"This is a cognitive world!" Morgana replies. "As long as our opponent sees it as real, it becomes such. It's a good thing it's realistic-looking."

Ryuuji looks at the gun in his hands, his brow furrowed in confusion. "…I don't get it."

Morgana grins widely. "I wasn't expecting someone with your brains to understand. How about you, Frizzy Hair? Did you get what I said?"

"Not at all," Jun says as she tugs down on a glove. She hadn't been paying attention… "And it's  _not_  frizzy."

Morgana frowns. "Maybe I was expecting too much…"

"Wait, if it's better havin' something realistic, why do you got that slingshot?!" Ryuuji looks questioningly at Morgana. "And it was just as strong as a goddamn gun! What about your whole cognitive whatever?!"

A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Morgana's face. "W-Well, um…"

…

…

Morgana sighs. They don't really have much of an explanation for the slingshot… " _Fine_ …you can choose to understand it however you want. But for the record, the reason why it's as strong as a gun is because of the type of ammo I'm using. I already mentioned it before—it's made out of steel."

"Slingshots can be rather lethal," Jun explains. "It depends on how they're used and the type of ammo varies, with some being used specifically for hunting purposes."

"I see…" Ryuuji nods his head. "That makes sense…lemme guess—your uncle again?"

Ryuuji wouldn't be surprised if that's the case.

"Actually, I learned that from my mother." Jun laughs. "She was a bit of a troublemaker as a kid…of course, all she had was marbles."

Although, it  _was_  because of Shibe that Jun's mother took in interest in slingshots in the first place…

"Huh…" Ryuuji scratches the back of his head and then looks at the gun in his hand. "So…you sure you want me to keep this?"

"You don't have a Persona, and Arsène and Zorro won't always be able to protect you." Jun crosses her arms over her chest. "So I don't see any other reason why you shouldn't keep it."

"Don't treat it like a toy, though!" Morgana warns Ryuuji. "It works like a real gun now, so be careful. And remember—make every shot  _count_!"

"R-Right…" Ryuuji nods his head.

"Anyways, that fight went a lot better than the last two," Morgana says. "Let's keep up the good work."

…

…

"What happened to staying out of sight?!"

"I'm sorry—I didn't mean to trip on my coattails!"

_Bang! Bang!_

"A little help here—kinda Persona-less and this gun doesn't have unlimited ammo!"

Another botched ambush lands the group in a fight against two floating jack-o'-lanterns. Morgana's fur bristles at the tense atmosphere caused by yet another spike in the Palace's security level.

"We're in the yellow!" Morgana makes a face as they use their slingshot to attack one of the Shadows. "This is  _so_  not good!"

"Why does everything  _feel_  bad?!" Jun thought it was weird that Morgana can sense the Palace's security level. Now that she can sense it herself, she can understand  _why_  they want to keep it as low as possible. Apart from the Palace guards being on higher alert, the atmosphere just feels so unpleasant.

The fight doesn't last too long, thanks to Morgana's surprisingly accurate aim. It helps that the jack-o'-lanterns share the exact same weakness the lightning-wielding girls had to gun attacks. And while a good chunk of their ammo got used up, Morgana is just relieved that they managed to maintain complete control of the situation.

"We got lucky…" They sigh wearily. "It would've been really bad if we got surrounded."

"But we didn't!" Ryuuji points out.

"That doesn't change the fact that the security level went up again." Jun grimaces. "Uuugh, I actually feel it this time."

"It gets worse the higher it is—just so you know," Morgana says. "You'll know when we're in the red…"

"I don't  _want_  to know." Yellow feels bad enough already for Jun.

"You'll get used to it." Morgana shrugs.

"Hey—why am I not feelin' anything?" Ryuuji asks.

"Probably because you don't have a Persona," Morgana replies. "Either that, or you just have duller senses."

"Hey!" Ryuuji scowls.

"We've stuck around long enough—let's keep going!" Morgana quickly changes the subject. "The training hall shouldn't be that much further."

Ryuuji mutters under his breath and focuses his attention on the gun in his hand. He struggles to activate the safety due to not having much experience handling guns—real or fake. He freezes still when Jun snatches the gun out of his hands. She fiddles with it for a second and then hands it back to him.

"I'd rather you mess with the gun when it's not loaded," she says.

Ryuuji blinks a few times and then looks at the gun in his hand.  _"How did…?"_

There's a lot Ryuuji still doesn't know about Jun, but what he can say so far…

" _She's really strange."_ Ryuuji sighs and shoves the gun in his pocket.

…

…

Jun, Ryuuji, and Morgana come across another guard in their path. They observe it carefully from a distance, peering out from behind a corner. The guard shows no signs of moving from its spot, effectively blocking anyone wishing to go through the door behind it. With no other choice but to fight, Morgana sends Jun in to land the first hit. It goes without any issues and their fight this time is against a lone, winged girl.

"We have the advantage here!" Morgana exclaims, an idea quickly forming in their head. "Hey, let me show you something, since seeing is…something?"

"Oi!" Ryuuji knows almost immediately that Morgana is taking a jab at them. He might be dense at times, but he's not  _that_  dense.

"Look, what you want to do is knock down  _all_  enemies!" Morgana pulls out their slingshot and takes aim at their opponent. "Like this!"

A steel ball shoots out and strikes the diminutive winged girl right in the abdomen. She chokes out a scream and drops down to the floor.

_Thud!_

She coughs and sputters, gagging a few times as reddish-black liquid trickles down the side of her mouth.

"Alright—now time to rush in for a group attack!" Morgana switches out their slingshot for their sword. "Keep that gun pointed at her, Ryuuji! Now with me, Frizzy Hair!"

Jun wastes no time in following after Morgana. It is Morgana who lands the first hit on their opponent, swing their sword multiple times at the winged girl. She screams out in pain as deep gashes appear on her body. The sound itself is quite unpleasant that Jun finds herself letting Arsène order her around when she finally attacks.

In a swift motion, Jun slashes only once and then jumps back as far as she can to distance herself from the enemy. She tugs down on her left glove, just mere seconds before reddish-black liquid sprays out from a large gash in the girl's neck.

"Oh what the  _fuck_?!" Jun swears loudly, taken somewhat aback by the fact that her actions caused  _that_.

"Duuuuuude, that was like something out of a manga!" Ryuuji exclaims ecstatically. "Effing awesome!"

"Nice work!" Morgana grins widely. "That went really well! You're definitely fit for this!"

"Thanks, I guess…" Jun laughs awkwardly as her cheeks heat up with a blush.

"Hey—just what was that?" Ryuuji asks Morgana.

"I call it an All-out Attack!" Morgana replies. "Kinda self-explanatory, but the main point is to knock all the enemies down and then go all-out on them."

"No kidding—that battle was over as soon as it began," Ryuuji says.

"Well, it  _is_  a concentrated attack on defenseless enemies." Morgana's tail swishes to the side. "Hey—just so you know, I want you to be the head of our command."

"Wait— _what_?!" Jun takes a step back.

"You decide when we use this attack!" Morgana hops over to her and gives her a few reassuring pats on the leg. "I'm counting on you!"

"…Fine." Jun sighs in defeat. From the looks of it, Morgana has long since decided to have her take on the responsibilities of being leader. So there doesn't seem to be any point in arguing with them—not that Jun wants to argue with Morgana.  _"You're lucky that you're so cute…"_

She  _still_  wants to touch their paw pads…

"Hey—this is it, right?" Ryuuji points at the door in front of them.

"Yeah!" Morgana nods. "Let's get going—oh, ladies first, though."

Jun rolls her eyes as she pushes open the door. She'll humor Morgana a bit…

They walk into a small room with a table at the center. There's another door on the other side of the room. A white banner hangs above it with writing on it that Ryuuji reads out loud.

"Kamoshida's…Training Hall…of Love…?" Ryuuji scowls. "What kinda bullshit is this?!"

"Keep your voice down!" Morgana hisses. "There might be more guards behind that door."

"Sorry…" Ryuuji frowns.

"Let's get this over with…" Whatever's up ahead, Jun knows that it likely won't be pleasant.

…

And it isn't. Jun, Ryuuji, and Morgana come across the disturbing sight of guards beating up a group of boys around a volleyball net. Ryuuji's anger flares up as he grabs onto the cell bars and starts shaking them. He growls when he finds that they're as firm as can be—there's no way for them to get through to get to the guards and the prisoners.

"Dammit!" He stomps his foot against the floor, his hands balled up tightly into fists. "This is bullshit!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to keep your voice down?!" Morgana scolds Ryuuji.

Ryuuji turns to Morgana, looking as angry as ever. He knows they're right, but… "But this is  _beyond_  messed up!"

He scratches the back of his head, trying his best to ignore the hot tears stinging his eyes. His hand reaches down afterwards to touch his right thigh. He grits his teeth when he feels pain upon applying slight pressure to a certain area on his thigh.

"Hey…how do I open this?" Ryuuji looks away from Jun and Morgana.

" **Stop it…"**  a voice weakly cries out.

Ryuuji's eyes widen as a boy with bandages wrapped around his arm, leg, and eye limps over to the bars. He looks at Ryuuji with an expression completely devoid of any life.

" **Leave us alone…"**  he says.  **"It's useless…"**

"Huh?!" Ryuuji can't believe what he's hearing…

Another boy walks up to the bars and looks warily at Ryuuji, Jun, and Morgana. **"If we stay obedient, we won't be executed like you guys!"**

Ryuuji growls loudly and grabs onto the bars with both of his hands. He looks angrily at the two prisoners, his stomach churning uncomfortably from all the things he's seen and heard so far. "You're tellin' me you wanna stay in a place like this?!"

"Wait a minute…" Morgana crosses their arms. "Were you planning on taking these guys out of here?"

Ryuuji releases the bars and turns around. "We can't just leave 'em here!"

Morgana shakes their head. "How stupid can you be…?"

"What?!" Ryuuji glares at Morgana.

"Rather than insult Ryuuji, why don't you explain yourself?" Jun looks sternly at Morgana.

"These are only humans in Kamoshida's cognition," Morgana explains. "They aren't real humans that have entered from reality. They're different from you two."

"Cognition…?" Ryuuji frowns.

"It means there's no point in saving them!" Morgana snaps. "They're different from the real ones in the real world. You could say that these are extremely similar-looking dolls."

Ryuuji makes a face. "The hell?! Why's it gotta be so complicated?!"

He heard everything Morgana said, but again—nothing wants to stick. He looks at Jun, hoping that she understands so she can explain it to him. Of course, it seems that she's in the same boat as him, with the way she's still processing the information.

"The school's a castle, and the students are slaves…" Ryuuji states what he knows so far. "Ha, it's so on point that it makes me want to laugh." His face contorts into a scowl as his temper flares up. "This really is the inside of that asshole's head…!"

Morgana jumps off the crate and hops over to the bars. They grimace at the sight they see, feeling rather queasy. "Still, this is horrible. It must mean he treats them as slaves in the real world too."

Ryuuji's eyes widen. "In the real world too…? Wait…I know these guys… They're members of the volleyball club—the one Kamoshida coaches for!"

Jun makes a face when she recalls the offer Kamoshida was extending to her much earlier. She had almost forgotten…

"They must be physically abused every day…" Morgana frowns. "There's no way they'd be so beat up normally."

"Don't tell me…" Ryuuji narrows his eyes and grits his teeth. "They're going through similar shit in reality?!"

"Most likely." Morgana looks down. "I mean, this proves that Kamoshida thinks of them as slaves."

"So it might be for real…" Ryuuji stares angrily at the sight behind the bars. It pisses him off that there's not much he can do. "I heard that Kamoshida's usin' physical punishment. They're just rumors, but… If they're true, wouldn't this be somethin' to report to the police…?"

"Yes, this would be something." Jun exhales shakily.

"You all right?" Ryuuji asks as he pulls out his phone. "You're not lookin' too good…"

"I just…" Jun breathes out again. "I ran into him earlier—right before I met up with you in the front of the school. He…he was asking me if I wanted to join the volleyball club."

"He  _what_?" Ryuuji's voice goes dangerously quiet.

Jun nervously twirls a lock of her hair. "H-He said it would do a troublesome student s-s-some good if I learn some discipline…"

"That son of a bitch!" Ryuuji shakes, his body practically seething with rage. He looks at his phone and turns it on. "I'm gonna use these guys as evidence. If it all goes well, we can take down that asshole Kamoshida…!"

How  _dare_  that asshole try something funny on a girl like Jun! Ryuuji can tell she's pretty shaken up by the offer and he wouldn't blame her after what happened yesterday. The scumbag raises far too many red flags to ignore…

"I told him not to try anything funny…" he mutters angrily under his breath as he looks through his apps. He taps on his phone's camera app and waits for it to open. "Fucking shithead thinks I'm joking…Huh?! It's not workin'?!"

Ryuuji's eyes widen as he looks at the screen on his phone—the app hasn't opened yet, even though he's tapped on it more than twice by now. He tries tapping a few things at random to test if his phone had stopped responding. It hasn't—the touch screen still responds to his touch, so his phone still works. And yet, no matter how many times he's tapped on it, the camera app remains unresponsive as ever.

"We can use the navigation app, but the camera's a no go?!" Ryuuji can't believe this bullshit!

Morgana's brow furrows. "A navigation app?"

"That's what we used to come here," Ryuuji quickly explains. "What about yours?"

Without even thinking twice about it, Jun pulls out her phone from her jacket's pocket. She looks through her apps and taps on the camera icon. A few seconds pass and there is no response. She taps on the icon a second and still, there is no response.

"The app won't open…" Jun looks anxiously at Ryuuji. "It looks like we're out of luck…"

Ryuuji clicks his tongue. "There  _has_  to be something we can do…!"

Morgana jumps up and flails their arms around in hopes of catching Jun and Ryuuji's attention. "Whatever you do is fine, but we're gonna get caught if we stand around like this. We need to head back!"

"Hang on a sec!" Ryuuji turns to the prisoners locked behind the cell bars. Even if they aren't real, it still pains him that there isn't anything he can do for them. He grabs onto the cell bars and stares intensely at the prisoners. He gets an idea as he stares at their faces. "Since there's no other way…I'll just memorize their faces before goin' home!"

It doesn't take him too long to memorize their faces. A minute passes and Ryuuji looks away. He scratches the back of his head and sighs before looking ahead.

"Mkay, let's check the cells 'round there." Ryuuji shoves his phone into his pocket and starts walking.

Morgana tugs on Jun's coattails a few times before following after Ryuuji. Jun tries to ignore the guilt coiling in her stomach as she walks away from the cell. She's somewhat hesitant to continue onwards, but forces herself to keep going, if only for Ryuuji's sake.

The next scene they come across is just as horrible as the one before, if not worse. Ryuuji watches in horror as three boys are forced to run nonstop on a huge treadmill resembling a track field. The treadmill is set at an uncomfortably high speed and has a spiked contraption set at its end as motivation of some sort, promising certain death for anyone who chooses to stop running—voluntarily or not. A yellow kettle dangles in the air from a beam, swaying left to right within the runners' sight.

" **W-Water…"** one of the boys gasps out, his hand reaching out for the kettle that's  _always_  too far from of his reach.

" **Urgh…please—no more!"** another boy pleads.

Ryuuji swallows hard, feeling rather ill. "Not givin' athletes water even for tough trainin' is a common thing in the real world too…"

"It's still not right," Jun remarks.

"I know." Ryuuji licks his lips. All too suddenly, his mouth feels so dry from the unpleasant memories he recalls from last year. He scowls. "That sack of shit…! I'm gonna try and memorize all these guys' faces before we go back…"

"You done yet?" Morgana asks.

"Just a bit more…okay, I'm done." Ryuuji exhales shakily. "Let's keep going."

A part of him hopes that that's all there is—but he knows better. He can feel bile rising in the back of his throat as he watches yet another boy suffering in pain. The boy hangs upside-down in the air, rope tightly bound around his ankles and wrists. Every few seconds, a volleyball is shot into his stomach from a cannon.

" **Agh! Gah!"** The sounds that come out of his mouth are unsettling to hear. **"It hurts… It hurts…!"**

"The hell…?" Ryuuji blinks back hot tears stinging his eyes. His voice begins to crack under the strain of his emotions. "This ain't trainin' at all…it's just violence!"

_Ulp!_

Ryuuji retches loudly, his stomach churning far too much for him to continue ignoring. He swallows hard, grimacing at the acid that burns his throat.

"You okay?" Jun asks, understandably concern for his wellbeing.

"I'm…fine!" Ryuuji insists, despite feeling otherwise. "It's just—this means he's been doin' something similar in reality too, right…?"

"Yes…unfortunately." Morgana cringes when another volleyball shoots into the boy's stomach.

"Damn that bastard…!" Ryuuji gags again, a few tears trickling down his cheeks.

"…" Jun adjusts her gloves for what feels like the umpteenth time today. Right now, it doesn't do much to ease her nerves, which is something that Ryuuji quickly picks up.

"Oh, my bad!" He blurts out a quick apology. "I gotta hurry this up. Gimme a sec and I'll memorize 'em as quick as I can."

…

"Hey, are you done yet?!" Morgana looks around cautiously for any guards. "We're cutting it close here!"

"Don't freak me out like that, you goddamn moron!" Ryuuji holds his hand over his pounding heart. He had been far too focused that Morgana's sudden outburst startled him… "Anyways, I got all of 'em!"

"Then let's stop wasting time!" Morgana hisses, their fur bristling. "We need to scram!"

"Let's go!" Jun commands, leading the way back…for almost a minute before Morgana took over.

"How bad can your sense of direction be?" Morgana sighs in exasperation.

"I don't want to talk about it." Jun huffs angrily.

…

They leave the training hall without encountering any guards along the way. It goes without any issues until…

" **The watch post near the training hall has ceased reporting! Chances of intruder activity are extremely high! All personnel, increase security measures!"**

Morgana, Ryuuji, and Jun hide behind some crates and barrels to avoid being spotted by a guard patrolling a nearby bridge. Morgana keeps a careful eye on the guard, waiting for the right moment to sneak by. They're only fortunate that the guard isn't stationed in the direction they need to go to leave the dungeon.

"Tch, we've stayed here too long…" Morgana was hoping to avoid this situation, but at the least, they've managed to stay undetected… _for once_. "Come on, let's get out of here before you guys blow our cover."

Morgana sighs inwardly in relief when Jun slaps her hand over Ryuuji's mouth to keep him from blurting anything out just now. He seems annoyed, but he doesn't do much about it. Jun has absolutely no reason to defend herself when Morgana has a point.

The three of sneak by without getting caught and make a beeline for the exit. Ryuuji and Jun follow Morgana up the stairs and through the opened doorway into the entrance hall. It's not much farther from the ventilation shaft they used to go in and out of the castle.

Unfortunately, Kamoshida and a group of his guards are standing in the way. He doesn't take notice of Jun, Ryuuji, and Morgana until they're standing right in front of him.

"… **You knaves again?"** His face contorts in disgust.  **"To think you'd make the same mistake again. You're hopeless!"**

"The school ain't your castle!" Ryuuji yells out. He glares at Kamoshida. "I've memorized their faces real good. You're goin' down!"

Kamoshida only smirks.  **"It seems it's true when they say 'barking dogs seldom bite.' How far the star runner of the track team has fallen."**

_Th-Thump!_

Ryuuji ignores the panic welling up in his chest. He tightens his fists tightly and stands his ground. "The hell are you gettin' at?!"

" **I speak of the 'Track Traitor' who acted in violence, ending his teammates' dreams."** Kamoshida grins at the hurt expression that briefly crosses Ryuuji's face.  **"Oh, I can only imagine the pain of the others who were dragged under with your…selfish act."**

"Ngh…" Ryuuji clenches his teeth. He doesn't want to remember that…

"'Track Traitor'?" Jun repeats questioningly.

Kamoshida laughs.  **"What a surprise. So you're accompanying him without knowing at all? Is what he pays you just that good? Or is it something else, because money is the last thing trash like him has…"**

"Leave her outta this!" Ryuuji holds his arm out in front of Jun. "It's got nothin' to do with her!"

" **On the contrary, I believe it does."** Kamoshida chuckles darkly.  **"Did you know that he betrayed his teammates and crushed their hopes?"**

A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Jun's face. "N-No…"

" **Well…now you do."** Kamoshida crosses his arms over his chest.  **"And yet, he still carries on as carefree as ever."**

"Is…Is that true?" Morgana asks Ryuuji.

"No—that's wrong!" Ryuuji exclaims. "That's not true at all!"

He remembers just how many weeks he's spent trying to defend himself. The rumors spread like wildfire and the truth was quickly buried underneath the massive lie Kamoshida set up. He had no one until now…but for how long?

" _Am I gonna lose everything again?!"_ Ryuuji trembles in fear.

…

"…I believe you," Jun says after a moment. Her voice snaps Ryuuji out of his thoughts, pulling him away from the past and back to the present. "But not  _you_."

Jun points the tip of her dagger's blade at Kamoshida. She hears a few offended gasps from his guards, but pays them no attention. Her eyes are focused entirely on Kamoshida as she waits for him to say or do anything else.

He only laughs.  **"You've come along with this fool and are now going to end up dead… How unlucky of you."**

"Shut up!" Jun snaps, her gray eyes flaring in anger. She rips off her mask to summon Arsène, knowing full well when she's walked right into a fight.

"Zorro!" Morgana yells out, summoning their own Persona as well.

The two gigantic beings stand by their users, just waiting for their commands. Ryuuji grits his teeth as he pulls out the gun in his pocket. He still has a few shots left…he can still fight back!

" **Go. Kill them all."** Kamoshida orders his guards without once blinking an eye. He glares at Ryuuji, Jun, and Morgana, angry at the fact that they still had the gall to oppose him.  **"Don't sully my castle with garbage."**

The knight standing closest to Kamoshida raises his sword and commands the other two knights to attack. His appearance differs from the other two, looking far more extravagant and of a higher rank. He is far larger in size, dressed in gold armor with a couple of red plumes sticking out from his helmet.

The two knights take on the form of three identical horses with pitch-black fur and a silver mane and tail. Two curved green horns protrude from their heads, their red eyes giving them a rather demonic appearance. They are gigantic in size, red eyes staring down at their opponents.

One of the horned horses charges at Ryuuji, but Arsène's quick reflexes manages to stop the horse in its tracks. It neighs angrily, its head twisting and turning against Arsène's firm grip on its horns.

Zorro takes advantage of the situation, sending blasts of green-colored wind at the horned horses. It hits them, but doesn't do much damage—the horses are a lot bulkier than expected. Arsène releases the horse's horns and jumps up, avoiding the back end hooves of a different horse. Its attack misses him completely, much to its annoyance.

Arsène nods his head and allows himself to drop down, so as to let his heels dig into the backs of the horses below him. The blades pierce their flesh with incredible ease, causing the two to start bucking in pain.

Zorro is occupied by the third of the horned horses, keeping it occupied and as far away from Jun, Ryuuji, and Morgana. The three are currently dealing with the high-ranking knight.

" **This guy is different from all the guards you fought until now."** Kamoshida watches the fight before with amusement.  **"Let me see how long you can survive against him."**

_Bang! Bang!_

The bullets ricochet off the knight's armor without so much as leaving a dent. The knight merely brushes off his chest and then strikes down with his massive sword. Jun pushes Ryuuji out of the way while Morgana jumps back as far as they can to avoid the attack.

_THUD!_

The knight's blade leaves an indent in the floor as a result of the force behind his attack. He stand still for a moment, if only to allow Kamoshida to speak without any interruptions.

" **Try to at least entertain me before dinner, alright?"** Kamoshida laughs ominously.

The knight nods his head only once before charging towards Ryuuji and Jun. His armor deflects more bullets that are sent his way.

"If it didn't work before, what makes you think it'll work again?!" Morgana hisses at Ryuuji, somewhat annoyed with the ammo he's wasting.

"I don't see you doin' anything!" Ryuuji retorts before shooting another bullet at the high-ranking knight. He was aiming for the eyes, but the bullet goes higher than that and misses the knight completely. Instead, the bullet hits a painting of Kamoshida dressed up as some heroic knight. It embeds itself right in the painting's forehead, earning a few laughs from Ryuuji and the ire of Kamoshida.

" **How dare you!"** Kamoshida scowls.  **"Kill him!"**

"Ryuuji!" Jun yells out before slamming Ryuuji out of the way of the knight's sword. The two roll across the floor for a few seconds before stopping. Jun is the first to recover and hastily shoves her dagger into Ryuuji's hands. She takes back the gun and shoots at the knight to earn his attention. "Morgana, back me up!"

Morgana readies their slingshot with a steel ball. Even though they know it won't do much, at the least it'll get the enemy's attention. The slingshot flings the steel ball towards the knight's helmet. It manages to enter through the open slot over where his eyes should be and based on the knight's pained screams, Morgana landed a hit.

"Bullseye!" Morgana grins widely.

Red liquid trickles down the knight's helmet as he glares at Morgana. Morgana ceases smiling almost instantly and quickly jumps out of the way when the knight charges at them. Their fur and tail puffs up in fright.

"Nyaahhh!" Morgana shrieks out as they use their sword to block. They grit their teeth when the knight's sword pushes down onto theirs. Down, down, and down Morgana goes, unable to properly deflect the knight's sword. He is far too strong… "H-H-Heeelllppp!"

_Bang!_

The knight backs away, allowing Morgana to flee out of his reach. The knight drops his sword onto the floor rather noisily, his hand held tightly over his wrist—right where Jun had shot him. He growls loudly as he glares at Jun, her unflinching gaze staring right back at him.

Jun proceeds to taunt him while wearing the biggest shit-eating grin on her face. "Is that the best you've got?"

That's all it takes for the high-ranking knight to snap. He picks up his sword and charges towards Jun. She is prepared to evade his attack, but staggers when a sharp pain jabs her left side rather painfully. She chokes out a gasp and clutches her side, wondering why it is that she's hurting so much.

Going unnoticed in the background, one of the horned horses had rammed its head into Arsène's side. The attack had enough force behind it to actually cause him to waver momentarily…for a few seconds. He then raises his heel and slashes at the horned horse's eyes. It screams out loudly in pain, which soon die out when Zorro plunges his rapier into the horse's throat. It chokes and sputters, gurgling a bit before its body dissolved into nothingness.

Only two of the horned horses remain and when Arsène attempts to attack one, he falls back. He suppresses the urge to cry out in pain when a large, diagonal gash forms right over his torso. It hurts a lot, but what happens next causes Arsène to freeze still as his hands claw at his throat at some invisible force that's applying an uncomfortable amount of pressure on his windpipe.

"Jun!" Morgana screams out in horror as they watches the high-ranking knight hold Jun up in the air by the throat. They slash at the knight's back, swearing loudly when the knight shakes off their attacks as though it's nothing. A hiss leaves their mouth when the knight suddenly slams Jun onto the floor. Blood spurts out from her mouth as she screams out in agony.

"Guuargh!" Tears trickle down her face as she struggles to pull the knight's hand off her throat. She feels sharp pains throughout her body. Bile rises in the back of her throat as the pain grows more intense.

Morgana growls when they noticed that the horned horses have taken advantage of Arsène's vulnerable state. Zorro is doing his best to assist his ally, but there's only so much he can do on his own…

" _Sorry, Jun…"_  Morgana leaves Jun's side to join Zorro, albeit reluctantly. They clench their teeth as they swing their sword at a horned horse that's taken to keeping Arsène pinned underneath its hooves. It sends the horse stumbling back a few steps, allowing Zorro to pull Arsène as far away from it as possible.

Zorro proceeds to heal Arsène wounds, since there's not much he can do about his inability to breathe. Dia will at least ease up some of the pain Jun has shared with him. He has to act quickly, before the Shadows overpower his user. Morgana can evade capture for only some time before…!

Zorro drops Arsène, his body rolling onto the floor. He dashes over to Morgana, hoping to free his user's tail from underneath the horse's hoof. He acts far too rashly to notice the trap the other horned horse had set up until he's slammed right into the wall.

_THUD!_

And just like that, the battle is over. Morgana chokes and sputters at the pain they feel throughout their body, unable to do much while Zorro is pinned against the wall and their tail is trapped underneath a Shadow's hoof. Arsène continues to writhe against the floor, unable to do anything as the high-ranking knight tightens his grip on Jun's throat.

"N-No way…!" Ryuuji stares wide-eyed at the scene before him. Ever since Jun had switched out the gun for her dagger, Ryuuji had stayed out of the fight—mostly as a precaution. There's not much he can do from a distance with a dagger and unlike Jun, he doesn't have a Persona to protect him.

All he could do is watch and the longer he watched, the more infuriated he grew with himself. If he wasn't so helpless, maybe this wouldn't have happened. If he was only stronger, then maybe he could actually help.

Instead, he's just a burden.  _"A weak, helpless burden…"_

Ryuuji drops despondently to his knees, the dagger still held tightly in his hands. So many thoughts flood his head, telling him how much of a screw up he is for letting this happen.

" **I bet you simply came here on a whim and ended up like this."** Kamoshida finally shows himself after watching from a distance. He laughs at the look that Ryuuji sends his way.  **"Isn't that right?"**

"No…" Ryuuji can feel tears welling up in his eyes.

" **What a worthless piece of trash, getting emotional so quickly…"** Kamoshida says derisively.  **"How dare you raise your hand at me. Though it was only temporary, have you forgotten my kindness in supervising track practice?"**

Ryuuji growls and pounds his fists onto the floor in anger. "Wasn't no practice—it was physical abuse! You just didn't like our team!"

" **It was nothing but an eyesore!"** Kamoshida scowls.  **"The only one who needs to achieve results is me!"**

Ryuuji clenches his teeth, his eyes darting left and right for any openings he might find. He notices—though barely—Jun's outstretched hand reaching out for anything on the floor around her. She's not too far from him…and he still has her dagger.

" _It's not too late,"_ he thinks to himself.

" **That coach who got fired was hopeless too…"** Kamoshida grins deviously.  **"Had he not opposed me with a sound argument, I would've settled it with only breaking his star's leg."**

Memories of last year flood his head.

" _ **Please, stop—it hurts!"**_

No matter how many times he admitted defeat, it wasn't enough.

" _ **It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"**_

To Kamoshida, it just wasn't enough—not after what Ryuuji had done to him.

" _ **Guaaaaarggghhhh!"**_

All because Ryuuji couldn't keep his temper under control and his hands to himself.

_**Craaaaack!** _

He remembers it all too vividly.

" _ **Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaughhhh!"**_

The pain had been unbearable—white hot and agonizing. Bile rose to his throat, irritating it with such an acidic burn that he just couldn't keep it down. He made such a mess on the floor as tears streamed down his cheeks. He screamed and screamed and screamed, until he blacked out from the pain. And when he woke up, he was in the hospital, with his leg in a cast and his mother frantically asking him if he was okay.

_**"Ryuuji—say something!"** _

**_"A-Ahhh..."_ **

He was unable to say anything for a full week, because of how shot his voice was from all the screaming he did. By the time he was able to say anything, it was far too late for him to do anything—not that he ever had much of a chance to defend himself against Kamoshida. The damage had already been done and even now, Ryuuji can still feel the effects from that day as though it had only happened yesterday.

He can no longer stop the tears from coming. They trickle down his cheeks, his body trembling evidently from fear. "…What?"

" **Do you need me to deal with your other leg too?"** Kamoshida laughs.  **"The school will call it self-defense anyway!"**

"Dammit…!" His voice cracks. "Am I gonna lose again…?"

Is he going to lose everything all over again because of that bastard?

"Not only can I not run anymore…the track team is gone too 'cause of this asshole…!" Ryuuji chokes back a sob.

" _So that's why…"_ Morgana frowns, feeling horrible over what they just learned about Ryuuji. Kamoshida truly is such a despicable man…

Jun coughs and sputters a few times before loudly gasping for air. The knight had finally loosened his grip on her throat—but only enough to let her breathe.

" **Once I deal with these two, you're next."** Kamoshida makes his way over to Jun, chuckling menacingly as he listens to her gasp for air. He kneels down to her side and firmly grasps her hair.  **"Unless she takes my offer."**

"What…?" Ryuuji can't believe what he's hearing.  _"This shit again?!"_

" **Despite what you've done, I still do consider you a worthy servant for a princess."** Kamoshida grins.  **"You should consider yourself lucky…how about it?"**

Ryuuji slides the dagger across the floor, hoping and praying it gets within Jun's reach. It manages—and just barely in time after Jun spits a wad of saliva in Kamoshida's face. She grabs the dagger and plunges it right into the knight's wrist, where her fingers had felt flesh instead of the hard, metal plating of a gauntlet. She frees herself from the knight's grip and rolls away, avoiding Kamoshida's foot as he tries to kick her.

Jun jumps to her feet, struggling somewhat to maintain her balance. Her head feels so lightheaded and her throat fucking  _hurts_. She wipes blood and saliva off of her mouth before coughing a few more times. She gives Ryuuji a sympathetic look when she notices that he's staring at her. She coughs again and then speaks.

"D-Don't…let him w-win!" Her voice sounds raspy and hoarse, but is loud enough for Ryuuji to hear.

Ryuuji looks down, feeling rather relieved that he was able to do something in the end. He lifts his head and wipes away his tears. "…You're right."

He can't let Kamoshida win— _not again_!

"Everything that was important to me was taken by him…" His friends, his reputation, his life… "I'll never get 'em back…!"

Just now, he almost lost Jun… _almost_.

" **Stay there and watch."**  Kamoshida scowls as he gives the high-ranking knight the order to go after Jun.  **"Look on as these hopeless scum die for nothing because they sided with trash like you."**

Ryuuji growls as he forces himself to stand up. He hears Morgana meowing loudly in pain and sees the knight chasing after Jun. She struggles to stay out of his reach, nearly falling over a few times. He grits his teeth when Kamoshida starts to laugh at the sight of his knight cornering Jun.

That's when Arsène smashes in the knight's face into a pillar. His masks gleams eerily as he stares down at the high-ranking knight he's taken down. His hand reaches down to gently stroke Jun's hair, almost as an apology as some sort for being unable to protect her.

This time, Jun lets herself lean into Arsène's touch, no longer caring about the way she looks. Just the sight of it motivates Ryuuji to stay strong. Jun's safe now…and he's willing to do  _anything_  to ensure she stays safe.

Morgana still needs help, as does Zorro. Ryuuji might not get along with Morgana, but he'll be damned if he lets anyone else get hurt because of him.

Ryuuji glares at Kamoshida. "No…"

" **No?"** Kamoshida scowls.

"I said no…" Ryuuji says firmly. "Because that's what  _you_  are!"

The only trash Ryuuji sees is the shithead standing across from him.

"All you think about is using people…" Ryuuji  _hates_  people like that. "You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!"

Ryuuji no longer sees any reason why he should be afraid of Kamoshida. A lot has happened, but it's all in the past now. This is now—and he's no longer letting things happen.

" **What are you doing?"** Kamoshida asks his guards as he watches Ryuuji stumbling towards him.  **"Silence him!"**

Ryuuji points a finger at Kamoshida. Anger burns through his veins, crackling intensely like electricity that makes his skin tingle. "Stop lookin' down on me with that stupid smile on your fuckin' face!"

" _ **You made me wait quite a while,"**_ a masculine voice speaks out to Ryuuji from the depths of his thoughts.

_Th-Thump!_

"A-Aaagh…!" Pain blossoms within his head, causing Ryuuji to bring a hand to his temple to ease some of the pain. It doesn't help and the pain only intensifies to indescribable levels, forcing Ryuuji to drop down to his knees. He clutches his head in his hands, eyes opened as wide as possible. Droplets of sweat fall from his face and onto the floor as he digs his fingers into the red carpet.

" _ **You seek power, correct?"**_ the voice asks him, receiving only pained cries and grunts in response.  _ **"Then let us form a pact."**_

Saliva trickles down the sides of Ryuuji's mouth as he screams out in pain. He clutches his head again, hoping for the pain to finally stop. It never does—it only grows more and more in intensity, ripping out a loud sob from his mouth. He pounds his fist onto the floor once before rolling onto his back.

" _ **Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc…?"**_ The voice continues speaking to him throughout his pain, seemingly oblivious to his distress as he curls up into a fetal position.  _ **"The 'other you' who exists within desires it thus…"**_

Tears stream down Ryuuji's cheeks as he kicks and screams his throat raw against the agonizing pain erupting within his head. It hurts, it hurts, it  _hurts_!

" _ **I am thou, thou art I…"**_ the voice tells him, ignoring the sobs that escape from his mouth.  _ **"There's no turning back… The skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!"**_

Warm, brown eyes glow an eerie gold as a black mask covers the upper half of Ryuuji's face. It has a skull-like appearance to it and clings to his skin as though it's been glued on. He reaches up to tug on it, unable to ignore the urgent request he hears from within that's telling him to rip it off.

He forces himself to stand up, applying even more force to his grip when he sees the high-ranking knight approaching Arsène and Jun. The knight's armor is cracked in places, practically falling apart as he stumbled over to the two.

Morgana's loud, distressed meows urges Ryuuji to move faster. He has to help out, but before that, he needs to get this mask off his face!

"Nnnngh…" He tugs harder and harder, until… "Hraaaaaaaaagh…!"

He screams out when he rips off the mask. The metallic scent of blood immediately fills his nose as the red liquid drips down his face from where the mask once was. His eyes roll back into his head as he continues to scream out in pain, blue flames soon engulfing his body.

Arsène grabs Jun and pulls her into his protective embrace. He rushes towards the horned horses and forcefully shoves them off of Zorro and Morgana. Zorro acts quickly and dashes over to Morgana, shielding them from the strong force that expels from Ryuuji's body.

A bright wave of blue flames spreads out, momentarily blinding everyone within the entrance hall. When the brightness finally wanes, Arsène releases Jun and Zorro does the same for Morgana. As he takes the moment to heal both his user and Jun, the two look ahead at Ryuuji.

He stands hunched over, seemingly unresponsive to everything all around him. He doesn't even seem to notice the humanoid being standing behind him on a ship. The being is of a size similar to Arsène and Zorro, though his appearance is that of a skeletal pirate captain. He stares down at Kamoshida with a menacing grin, almost a though he knows what's going to happen next.

His right eye is covered by an eye patch and his right arm is replaced with a cannon. He has a bandage of some sort wrapped around his right thigh. A single, golden eye rimmed in red focuses on Ryuuji as a hearty chuckle escapes from the pirate captain's mouth.

That's all it takes for Ryuuji to finally respond. He looks up, wearing a sinister smile on his face. Like Jun, he no longer wears his school uniform, but an entirely different outfit. He wears a matching black jacket and pants with kneepads and combat boots. A red ascot hangs around his neck and like Jun, he wears a pair of gloves, though his are yellow instead of red.

" **Ugh… This one as well?!"** Kamoshida covers his face with his arm, his high-ranking guard standing right next to him for his protection.

"Right on…" Ryuuji gleefully looks at his new outfit, liking everything that there is to it—the way it feels and more importantly, the way it looks. "Wassup, Persona…"

" **Hello to you, too,"** Ryuuji's Persona returns the greeting.  **"I am Captain William Kidd** **—** **a pleasure to make your acquaintance."**

Ryuuji's body shakes from excitement. He looks at Jun and Morgana with a toothy smile on his face. "This effin' rocks!"

Jun returns the smile, showing off her cat-like fangs. "You hear that, Arsène?"

" **Loud and clearly,"** Arsène responds.

Morgana meows somewhat angrily, smoothing down their fur before taking out their sword. "About time!"

Ryuuji only laughs at Morgana's comment. "Now that I got this power, it's time for payback… Yo, I'm ready…"

Ryuuji cracks his knuckles before holding out his right hand. A metal pipe lands in the palm of his hand—courtesy of his Persona. Morgana and Jun join his side, ready to fight back alongside him.

"Bring it!" Ryuuji calls out to the high-ranking knight.

The knight growls, feeling far too angry to maintain his composure any longer.  **"Ngh… Don't mock me, you brat!"**

He swings down his sword, the rest of his armor falling off. His appearance changes, taking on the form of man dressed in red armor. He is armed with a long spear and rides on a black horse with a white mane and tail. His horse neighs loudly, nostrils flaring out in anger. They're both massive in size, but this does nothing to deter Ryuuji.

Ryuuji's grin only widens as he points at the man in red armor. "Blast him away…Captain Kidd!"

_BOOM!_

A cannonball shoots out from Captain Kidd's right arm. It's sent towards the man in red armor, but he orders his steed to move out of the way in time. Instead, the cannonball hits one of the two remaining horned horses and effectively takes it out.

"Nice one!" Ryuuji exclaims. "Next up is Zio!"

_Snap!_

Ryuuji snaps his fingers, his grin growing wider went Captain Kidd sends a bolt of lightning towards the last of the horned horses. It goes down in mere seconds, unable to withstand the attack at all. Morgana's fur bristles up at the sight, their eyes widening in surprise.

"Z-Zio?!" Morgana sputters.

Ryuuji laughs. "You better watch out, or I might zap you!"

"Behave." Despite what she says, Jun can't help but smile. She can tell Ryuuji is just messing around, which he only confirms by laughing even louder.

" **What troublemakers that bother King Kamoshida with trifle matters!"** The high-ranking guard looks at the three with disgust.

Ryuuji stops laughing, his face contorting into a scowl as he turns his attention to the high-ranking guard. "Kamoshida's cognition ain't changin', right? Then I'll act like the troublemaker I am!"

Ryuuji places his right hand over his face. In a burst of blue flames, the skull-like mask appears on the upper half of his face. He can hear Captain Kidd's voice in his head, just urging him on to unleash his pent-up rage.

"Good idea!" Ryuuji says. "Let's do this, Captain Kidd!"

Captain Kidd only nods his head and aims his cannon at the high-ranking guard. A bolt of lightning strikes his spear, the electricity quickly spreading throughout his body. His horse neighs loudly in distress and nearly bucks him off.

" **You're going to regret this!"** The high-ranking guard shakes off the electricity crackling over his body.

_Bang!_

He tightens his hold on the reins as a bullet embeds itself into the floor, startling his horse in the process. He turns his head, eyes narrowing angrily on Jun's figure as she aims her gun in his direction. He snaps the reins and holds his spear out as his horse charges towards Jun.

_BANG!_

The horse stops and rears itself in fright from the loud noise coming from Ryuuji's shotgun.

"I won't hesitate!" he yells before shooting another round at the high-ranking guard. The recoil is a lot stronger than the pistol's, but it's not anything that Ryuuji can't handle.

"Where did you—!" Morgana stares wide-eyed at the shotgun in Ryuuji's hands.

"This was one of the few guns the shopkeeper showed me the other day," Ryuuji says. "I wanted to buy it, but it was out of my budget…so I got that other one instead."

"That doesn't answer my question!" Morgana hisses.

"Oh…well, it came with the outfit!" Ryuuji laughs.

Morgana resists the urge they have to scratch Ryuuji. They're not so eager to piss off his Persona, especially since Captain Kidd can use Zio skills. A growl rumbles in the back of their throat when they hear Jun laugh along. Her voice is still hoarse, but Ryuuji enjoys the sound nonetheless.

Arsène lunges at the high-ranking guard, still absolutely enraged at the harm he caused Jun. He rakes his sharp nails across the guard's face, growling when it does nothing against the guard's sturdy armor. He quickly swipes the horse with his heel and causes it to stumble towards Zorro.

Zorro attacks the guard with a burst of green-colored wind, having realized that normal physical attacks have little effect. The attack does a considerable amount of damage, but it's still not enough. Arsène attacks again and slams his body into the guard, toppling him off his horse.

The guard rolls across the floor a few times, before stopping right in front of Captain Kidd. The guard wearily lifts his head and freezes still when he sees electricity crackling all over Captain Kidd's body. Malicious laughter echoes within his skull, his eye focused entirely on the guard.

Not too far away, Ryuuji helps Morgana tend to Jun's injuries. He grimaces at the ugly bruises marring Jun's throat and bites his lip when she removes her jacket. Morgana makes a face at the dark splotches they see on Jun's exposed arms. They can only imagine what her sleeveless gray shirt is hiding underneath it…

"Shit—I'm  _so_  sorry…" Ryuuji pulls out the bottle of painkillers and hands them to Jun. They won't do much, but it'll at least ease her pain. "Fuck, I don't have anything to drink…"

Jun says nothing and just opens up the bottle. She pulls out a couple of pills. She tries to swallow them dry, but her throat is far too tender to allow such an action. A string of obscenities leaves her mouth as she curses her bad luck. She has so many drinks in her schoolbag…

" _I really need it now…"_ Without thinking twice about it, she reaches into her bag and pops open a can of Second Maid. She forces the pills down her throat, wincing visibly from the pain she feels from the action. "Mandarin…"

Not a bad taste…

"Dude…where did you get that?" Ryuuji asks.

"From my…bag…" Jun trails off as she looks at her schoolbag while it hangs off her shoulder. "How the…?"

Morgana huffs. "I was wondering when you were going to ask. I'm surprised you didn't ask where I keep my slingshot or sword."

"About that…" Ryuuji begins.

"It's very easy to think, 'Oh, I don't need this now' and just put it away without thinking much about it until you actually need it," Morgana explains. "Think of it as some sort of…hammerspace—makes it possible to keep things on you without it getting in the way."

"So it's like when some random dude pulls out something so big out of a small bag." Ryuuji's read enough manga and comics to understand that it's a concept that exists…though, he still doesn't get  _how_  it works.

"Basically!" Morgana nods. "Though, it goes an extra step further—you can summon or dismiss your things at your own pace. It all really depends on the situation and whether or not you need it."

"That…would explain why I didn't feel the bottle until just a few minutes ago." Ryuuji just reached into his pocket and pulled it out without any issues.

"Interesting…" is all Jun can say before taking another sip from her can. Little by little, the soreness in her throat fades away. It's a feeling that travels throughout her body, taking away the pain she feels each time she breathes.

"Holy crap!" Ryuuji's eyes widen. "Your bruises—!"

Jun blinks a few times and then looks at herself. "Huh?!"

The bruises on her arms are healing at a much faster pace than usual, slowly fading out of sight until there are none left. Tentatively, Jun touches her throat and is pleasantly surprised to find that it is no longer so tender to the touch.

"It seems the items you brought into this place have restorative properties," Morgana states. "Not bad…"

"So you're sayin' that these pills and that drink…" Ryuuji scratches the back of his head. "Okay, you gotta admit that that's pretty effin' cool."

"It's more useful than anything." Morgana narrows their eyes. "This is certainly a fortunate discovery we've made."

" **Guaaaaarggghhhh!"**

"And it seems our Personas have ended this battle." Morgana grins in satisfaction as they watch the high-ranking guard struggle to stay standing on unsteady legs. Electricity crackles throughout his body, reminding Morgana of the time they were struck by Zio. It feels good to see someone else go through the same pain they did…

" **I am…a loyal subject…of the glorious King Kamoshida."** The high-ranking guard staggers over to his downed horse, Arsène and Zorro having made quick work of it while Captain Kidd dealt with him.  **"So why…have I lost…?!"**

Ryuuji grins widely as he hoists his metal pipe onto his shoulder. "It just proves that Kamoshida ain't anything special."

_Zap!_

A bolt of lightning finishes off the guard and his horse. Ryuuji looks proudly at his Persona, happy with their newfound companionship. "Let's get along, yeah?"

" **Of course."** Captain Kidd nods his head.

Ryuuji laughs, feeling as though he's on top of the world for once. He turns his attention to Kamoshida, who cowers under his gaze.  _"How the tables have turned…"_

There so much he lost because of Kamoshida…but as of today, he'll work to protect the things he still has. His body feels heavy, making it hard for him to take even a single step. He gasps and pants, exhaustion finally hitting him like a ton of bricks.

" _ **You are at your limit."**_ Ryuuji blinks, not knowing what to think of the voice he heard in his head just now. It's Captain Kidd—and it looks like he's able to talk to him like this.

" _Not now…!"_ Ryuuji forces himself to stand up straight. He glares at Kamoshida. "…How 'bout that?! Even if you apologize now…I ain't forgivin' you…!"

Kamoshida whimpers at first, but stops when he hears heavy footsteps in the distance. It seems his guards are on their way…as well as a certain someone.

" **I told you that this is my castle."** Kamoshida looks smug.  **"It seems you still don't understand…"**

Purple heels clack against the floor, the sound announcing the arrival of a teenaged girl with ash-blonde hair. She is clad in nothing but a dark purple, leopard print string bikini. Its skimpy design accentuates her ample chest, which she has no issues showing off. She wears a jeweled tiara with a pair of black cat ears on her head.

The girl stops walking once she's reached Kamoshida's side. She wears a sultry smile on her face as she turns to look at everyone else.

Ryuuji immediately recognizes her. "Wh—Takamaki?!"

"Oh…!" Morgana's eyes widen. "Wha…What a meow-velous and beautiful girl…!"

Jun opens her mouth, but nothing comes out—she's far too shocked to say anything about the sight before her. That girl looks  _exactly_  like Ann—but it  _can't_  be her!

…

" _Can it?"_ Jun's stomach churns uncomfortably. She swallows hard, feeling rather ill from seeing how disgustingly affectionate Ann is towards Kamoshida. "That hair!"

" **I must admit, your handiwork is worth commending."**  Kamoshida chuckles as he lightly plays with one of Ann's braids.  **"You would've made a great servant if you hadn't turned down my offer."**

" **Aww, so** _ **ruuude**_ **!"** Ann pouts in a deliberately childish manner.  **"We could've been** _ **great**_ **friends!"**

"What's going on…?!" Ryuuji has no idea what to make of this. He doesn't recall seeing Ann ever act like this…

"Something is off…" Jun doesn't know what it is yet, but something is most definitely off.

"Yeah, now that you mention it…" Ryuuji furrows his brow. "But why is she even here?!"

Kamoshida grins as he reaches out to touch Ann's face. She leans into his touch quite eagerly and allows it to continue.

"Hey! Let go of her, you perv!" Ryuuji glares at Kamoshida, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with what he's seeing happen.

" **How many times must I tell you until you understand?"** Kamoshida laughs.  **"This is MY castle** **—** **a place in which I can do whatever I want. Everyone wishes to be loved by me."**

He removes his hand from Ann's face and allows her to press her body closely against his. He looks at Jun, Ryuuji, and Morgana, his face contorting into a scowl when he sees their respective Personas standing right behind them.

"… **That is, everyone besides slow-witted thieves like you."** Kamoshida practically spits in disgust.

"Takamaki!" Ryuuji calls out to Ann. "Say somethin'!"

"Calm down, Ryuuji!" Morgana speaks up. "It seems that girl isn't the real one."

"Good." Jun sighs inwardly in relief.

"Then what is she?!" Ryuuji looks questioningly at Morgana.

"She's the same as those slaves—a being made from Kamoshida's cognition of her!" Morgana hastily explains.

"What…?" Jun's eyes widen. "Cognition of her…you  _motherfucker_!"

Jun throws her empty can of Second Maid at Kamoshida. She growls when he merely swats it away before it hits him.

" **Are you jealous?"** Kamoshida asks mockingly.  **"Well, I'm not surprised. There's only so much that men can find attractive about feisty, troublesome girls… I guess even desperation can draw women to problematic punks like you, Sakamoto."**

"At least Ryuuji's better than you, you shithead!" Arsène has to hold Jun back to keep her from lashing out at Kamoshida. He glances at Ryuuji, taking note of his flustered expression. He then covers Jun with her jacket, which she had forgotten to put back on after healing her injuries.

" **A lady shouldn't expose so much skin around men."** Arsène knows better that Jun doesn't give a damn—it's just her arms, after all. And yet, he's still so hesitant, if only because of that lecherous scum she called a shithead.

Captain Kidd barks out a laugh and gives Arsène a hearty slap on the back. Arsène glares at him, but Captain Kidd only continues to laugh. It amuses him immensely how such a tiny girl can be so impactful to his user. It's honestly endearing…

" **Clean them up this instant!"** Kamoshida loses whatever little patience he had after hearing that outburst from Jun. It is at that moment that his guards finally arrive, appearing right before him in a splatter of red liquid.

"We're outnumbered…" Morgana's fur bristles up. "Let's scram before we get surrounded!"

"We're not gonna do anything and just run?!" Ryuuji manages to snap out of his flustered state.

"We can't die here!" Jun yells at Ryuuji before grabbing onto his hand. "Not like this!"

Even though she has quite a lot of unfinished business with Kamoshida, she knows better than to jump into situations after nearly dying a second time.

"Thank god you've got a level head!" Morgana reaches into their belt and pulls out a small ball wrapped in paper. They go about igniting a small wick sticking out of the ball. "Get ready!"

"Ngh…fine!" Ryuuji reluctantly agrees. He glares at Kamoshida and points accusingly at him. "We'll expose what you really are, no matter what! You better be ready for us…!"

Kamoshida only laughs and laughs.  **"I was beginning to get bored of torturing the ones here! Come at me whenever you want, if you don't care about your life! Haaaahahahaha!"**

"Now!" Morgana yells, just seconds before a cloud of smoke bursts out of the ball in their paw. The smoke quickly spreads out, obscuring everyone's vision with thick, opaque white smoke.

When it finally clears, Morgana, Ryuuji, Jun, and their Personas are completely out of sight. Using the smoke to their advantage, they manage to escape from the castle without any issues.

…

Ryuuji hunches over with his hands on his knees. He gasps and pants for air, inwardly lamenting the fact that he's gotten so out of shape. He looks enviously at Jun and Morgana, wishing that he could catch his breath as easily as they can.

"Anyways!" he manages to gasp out after a minute. He turns to Jun, who brushes away the strands of hair sticking to her face. "I don't remember changin' into this!"

"Really?! Now you decide to ask that?!" Morgana can't believe Ryuuji!

Jun only laughs. She pats Ryuuji's arm a few times and says, "It looks good on you."

"Uhh…should I be happy about that?" Ryuuji scratches the back of his head. A moment passes and a mischievous grin crosses his expression. "Then again, it ain't as bad as yours."

"Excuse me?" Jun narrows her eyes.

"Quiet!" Morgana hisses, the group going silent as they hear guards searching for them in the distance.

"So, what's going on?" Ryuuji asks after a few minutes pass. His voice is quieter than usual, so as to avoid attracting any attention. "The outfit and Persona, I mean—why now? And why me?"

"When a Persona-user opposes a Palace's ruler and becomes a threat to them, this happens," Morgana explains. "It's to prevent you from being affected by distortions."

"Is this…a skull?" Ryuuji feels the shape of his mask with his fingers.

"Just like Captain Kidd!" Jun grins.

"Right…!" Ryuuji laughs. "Just like him…"

"Your appearance reflects your inner self," Morgana continues. "It's the rebel that slumbers within…not that you'll get it."

"Nope…" Ryuuji doesn't even bother to pretend.

"Then stop asking questions and accept what you see for what it is!" Morgana hisses.

"Easy for you to say." Ryuuji sighs. A moment passes and he gasps loudly. "Wait, we're in deep shit!"

"I said be quiet!" Morgana's fur and tail puffs up. A growl rumbles in the back of their throat when fingers lightly stroke their chin. They bat away Jun's hand, hissing angrily at her for treating them like a cat.

Jun just smiles, very much enamored with Morgana's behavior. She crouches down by their side, finding comfort in their close proximity.

"We might've gotten away here, but we're still screwed with Kamoshida at the real school…" Ryuuji can't afford to get into any more trouble with Kamoshida.

"That's quite sharp of you!" Morgana says, before adding a moment later, "For being an idiot—ow!"

"Be nice," Jun tells Morgana after giving their nose a light flick with her finger.

"Hmm…" Morgana rubs at their nose, looking somewhat annoyed. "I wouldn't worry at all—after all, that's just Kamoshida's Shadow. The one in reality can't possibly know about what happens here."

"His Shadow…?" Ryuuji furrows his brow.

"A Shadow is the true self that is suppressed—a side of one's personality they don't want to see," Morgana explains.

"…So we're okay?" Ryuuji asks to make sure.

"Did the Kamoshida in reality remember about the execution?" Morgana bats Jun's hand away from their face.

"No…but the braids—that was something that happened in reality." Jun frowns.

"Reality can impact one's cognition." Morgana can only wonder what kind of relationship Jun has with that girl. "Those braids must've left quite the impression…"

"Ugh, I really wish it didn't…" Jun sighs in exasperation. She stands up straight and smooths down the creases in her pants.

"Now that we know that, all we gotta do is—" Ryuuji gets cut off by Morgana.

"Wait—I guided you as promised!" Morgana looks expectantly at Ryuuji. "It's your turn to cooperate with me."

Ryuuji and Jun look questioningly at Morgana, confused with they have to say.

"That's why I was super nice about teaching you idiots everything!" Morgana doesn't hold back this time. They want their intentions known.

"Huh? Cooperate?" Ryuuji scratches the back of his head.

"Don't you remember?" Morgana swings their paws left to right around their body. "I originally came here for an investigation. I need to erase the distortion from my body and regain my real form! That's why we must delve deep into Mementos and—"

"Whoa, hold up," Ryuuji interrupts Morgana. "What're you goin' on and on about? We never said anything about helpin' you out."

"Huh?" Morgana's eyes widen. "Don't tell me… Are you not going to repay the hospitality I showed you? Especially you! You're going to up and leave, even though you're already part of my master plan?!"

Jun immediately drops down to Morgana's level in a squatting position. She does it so suddenly that it catches Morgana by surprise. "I never promised."

"Ehh?!" Morgana exclaims.

"See?" Ryuuji says. "I wasn't lyin'."

"Is it because I'm not human…?" Morgana growls. "Because I'm like a cat…? Is that why you're making a fool of me?!"

"Amateur's mistake!" Jun grins at Morgana before prodding their nose. "You need to make a deal first before you go expecting something in return!"

Morgana stammers.

"Besides, we're busy!" Ryuuji scratches his head and sighs. He walks closer to Morgana and squats down to their level. "Thanks for everything, by the way. You've got guts, bein' a cat and all! See you around."

Ryuuji pats Morgana's head a few times before standing up. He winces a bit at the pain he feels in his right thigh and waits for it to pass before running off. Jun follows right after him—though not before picking Morgana up for a quick hug.

Morgana watches as the two teenagers leave them behind, far too angry and stunned to follow after them. "Hey, what the hell?! Why're you wrapping this up like everything's all hunky-dory?! Ugh, seriously?!"

Their fur and tail puffs up in anger as they continue to call out to Ryuuji and Jun. "Hey, get back here!  _Heeeeyyy_! Grr…GRAAGGGHHH!"

…

…

" _ **You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."**_ The navigation voice from Jun's phone makes itself known as Jun watches Ryuuji catch his breath.

They stand in the alley in front of entrance to Shujin High. Ryuuji leans back against the wall for support. His body feels to exhausted—as though he's just run a marathon.

"Thank god!" he gasps out. "We're back."

"Y-Yeah…" Jun exhales shakily. Her body feels so sore…

"I dragged you around a lot, huh?" Ryuuji frowns. "…Sorry, man."

"Don't apologize—it's fine," Jun insists. "Really…"

Ryuuji stares at Jun for a moment before sighing wearily. "Ugh, I'm dead tired… How you holdin' up?"

"I could use a nap." Jun plans on sleeping the instant she gets to Leblanc.

"Me too…" Ryuuji groans. "Man, I'm gonna sleep like a rock when I get home."

Jun yawns loudly, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. All this talk about sleep makes her want to pass out…

"But damn, if what we saw was for real, this is gonna get good!" Ryuuji grins widely. "I totally remember the faces of the guys Kamoshida was treatin' like slaves. Once we make 'em fess up to any physical abuse, Kamoshida will be done."

And he'll be as far away as possible from Shujin…

"So…wanna help me look for those guys or any witnesses?" Ryuuji feels awkward having to ask Jun for help. She's already done so much for him…

"Sure, I'll help." Jun smiles at Ryuuji.

Ryuuji smiles back at her. "Now  _that's_  what I'm talkin' about!"

He pauses when he recalls her situation. It's easy to forget when she acts as though she's never done anything wrong without reasonable provocation.

"Hey, so…" Ryuuji frowns as scratches his head. "If you're thinkin' of layin' low 'cause you got a record, I don't think that'll help… Everyone already knows. They totally got you pegged as a criminal."

Jun's expression falls at his comment. She recalls hearing that the information's gone online. "How'd that happen?"

"Kamoshida opened his damn mouth!" Ryuuji responds rather angrily. He crosses his arms over his chest as an unpleasant memory pops up in his head.

"But why?" Jun asks, her frustration clear in her tone. She's never done anything wrong to deserve this—she just got here the other day!

"No one else besides a teacher could've leaked it that fast!" Ryuuji knows that only Kamoshida is capable of doing something so messed up as that. "It doesn't matter if it's a student or a club—that asshole just wrecks things he doesn't agree with. Just like he did with me…!"

"Sorry about your leg." Jun gives Ryuuji a sympathetic look. "You didn't deserve that…"

"Ha, took me a while to believe that myself." Ryuuji laughs weakly. "No one'll take anything I say seriously. And I'm sure you realized it too…"

"Everyone just talks about how I'm selling myself." Jun looks down. "Everything about me is just to attract clients—I can't even make friends without people mentioning that I'm probably trying to recruit them."

At least Ann refuses to let it happen in front of her. And Haru…Jun's not sure if Haru knows about it.

"I'm not like that…" she sniffs. "I'm just not…"

"Hey…you got me, right?" Ryuuji's voice is soft and gentle. "C'mon—don't cry…please?"

Jun lifts her glasses up and wipes her tears on the back of her sleeve. She hiccups once, but that's it. "Yeah…okay, yeah."

"We'll get him back," Ryuuji reassures her. "Those rumors about him gettin' physical might be real. And after seein' Kamoshida's distorted-heart thing in person, there's no way I can just sit back!"

Not when it looks like he's trying to take advantage of Jun's position, considering his attempts to recruit her into the volleyball club…

"Of course." Jun nods her head.

"I'm countin' on you!" Ryuuji claps his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry—I'm hyped about this too!"

Jun smiles at the bond of trust she can sense from Ryuuji. It feels so genuine…

" _Hmm…?"_ Jun blinks a few times.

Time almost seems to stop at that very moment. Jun can hear the resonating sounds of heartbeats as something stirs within the back of her mind. She recognizes one of the heartbeats as her own, but soon realizes that the second one belongs to Ryuuji.

A feminine voice echoes in her thoughts, speaking directly to her in a way the reminds her of the butterfly she saw just moments before awakening to her new powers.

" _ **I am thou, thou art I…**_

_**Thou hast acquired a new vow.** _

_**It shall become the wings of rebellion** _

_**that breaketh thy chains of captivity.** _

_**With the birth of the Chariot Persona,** _

_**I have obtained the winds of blessing that** _

_**shall lead to freedom and new power…"** _

Jun hears chains rattling in her head and catches a quick glimpse of a card with the Roman numeral for the number seven on it. She sees a picture of an injured king riding on a chariot led by two horses. She feels something stir on her heart as the image disappears. For a moment, it feels quite restrictive, but she quickly adjusts.

There's nothing unpleasant about it as the feeling within her chest settles down, though all she knows that is that she feels  _something_  from just standing in Ryuuji's presence. It lingers in a way that reminds her that this—this is Ryuuji and he's sticking with her through this ordeal.

_Growl…_

"Oh…" Ryuuji's cheeks heat up when his stomach growls loudly. He feels as though he's ruined the moment, but Jun doesn't seem to mind from the way she laughs. "Right…I haven't eaten anything since lunch. Hey—it'd be weird splittin' off now, so why don't we grab a bite somewhere?"

"What kind of food?" Jun asks.

"Meat, man," Ryuuji answers. He grins widely as he gestures at Jun. "Just follow me. I mean, I totally gotta hear about your past!"

"Yeah, sure…" Jun smiles.

Ryuuji leads the way, but not before crouching down to pick up his discarded schoolbag off the ground. He checks if everything is still inside and then goes on his way. He smiles when he looks and sees Jun walking by his side. It's been too long since anyone has ever walked anywhere with him…

He goes about asking Jun random questions, wanting to know more about her. He find that she likes seafood and that's she's an only child—just like he is. He learns that she's half-Korean from her mother's side and that she has been homeschooled until the seventh grade. She's rather sheltered, but Ryuuji doesn't care.

However, he does feel annoyed about the shit she's going through. It likely isn't easy on someone with her upbringing…

When they board the train to Shibuya Station, Ryuuji manages to find two empty seats and quickly nabs them for him and Jun. The ride to Shibuya Station is mostly uneventful, but partway there, Ryuuji finds that Jun has fallen asleep. She leans against him as she sleeps, likely tired from today's events.

Ryuuji doesn't blame her and let's her sleep. He only wakes her when they've arrived at their stop. He laughs at how drowsy she looks, with her half-lidded eyes and sluggish movements.

"Have a nice nap?" he asks her, laughing even louder when she chases him off the train. He ignores the stares directed at them as they run out of the station. He can tell Jun is having fun and honestly, so is he.

He's running again and though he only lasts for a few minutes before his leg gives out, he feels as though nothing is wrong. Even if it's just for a brief moment—for once, nothing hurts…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY FUCKING SHIT, THIS CHAPTER BROKE 23K WORDS!
> 
> Ahh, god, it took so long to write this chapter—on my tablet, too! And good news, by the way—my new laptop should be coming in by the end of this month! But seriously, do appreciate the hell I've gone through to write out this chapter with my  _thumbs_.
> 
> Also, I go back to school on Monday, but fuck if that's ever stopped me. Just know that if I've stopped updating, it's cuz my life got hella busy.
> 
> ANYWAYS, I refuse to believe that Morgana can guide two teenagers so effortlessly through a Palace, so here's to some fuck ups, of which actually  _happened_  in the Fanfiction Run stream—which you can now find [here](http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5i_wUXYIo3bEuu0m0Tn7qJ0jRx0OFzsc)! All videos of the  _Persona 5 streams_  I've done so far are up, but do be warn of spoilers if you haven't gotten too far into the game. That being said, a  _lot_  goes down during these streams in which ideas are tossed around and are accepted into the fic!
> 
> Moving on, have some of that Klonoa flair when it comes to these fight scenes! And seriously, expect a lot more fuck ups to happen in the future. There is  _no_   _way_  these guys can get through without some trial and error. Also, fights are a lot more gruesome when you're up against Shadows who are actually Personas… At this rate, this fic might go up to an M rating, so place your bets when!
> 
> And by the by, Jun's absurd spending is brought to you by the Fanfiction Run again! Expect a lot of drinks to be bought (as well as food because of the soft little art boy), because  _boy_ , do I have a  **problem**!
> 
> Also, Jun can be rather playful when she wants to be…just like a cat! She also has an interest in fashion and she  _will_  take offense if anyone insults her sense of fashion.
> 
> Also, Ryuuji has ADHD—the Combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive subtype to be more precise. Because if there's one thing I can tell you throughout my first playthrough, a lot of the shit Ryuuji does is shit I've done myself as someone with ADHD. I relate a lot to Ryuuji and yeah, I've certainly been there and done a lot of stupid shit growing up.
> 
> It makes a lot of sense, considering the difficulty he has taking in so much information at once and the fact that he's a rather loud person—people with ADHD sometimes aren't aware of how loud they can be until it's pointed out. Anyone who's been at my streams knows how loud I can be without meaning to. There's also Ryuuji's impulsivity and his anger management issues—just so much of it makes sense if you subscribe to the headcanon that Ryuuji has ADHD.
> 
> You don't have to accept it yourself, but just know it's a thing here, alongside many  _other_  things. And friendly reminder that this is a Polythieves fic, so polyamory all the way!
> 
> Also, expect some research to go into fights against Shadows like Mandrake—currently known as the Gallows-Flower. I mean, mandrakes are said to cause death if uprooted and Mandrake resists curse, so Arsène leans mostly towards curse himself (and resists it, too) and… _yeah_ , that's why Jun and Arsène aren't bothered by Mandrake's screams.
> 
> Oh and the thing about Morgana's name, if anyone is confused, the katakana for it reads as MO-RU-GA-NA, which is how it's pronounced in Japanese. Things stick to me from the semester of Japanese I've taken and that's why it's like that…
> 
> Thank you guys so much for taking the time to comment! It really does encourage me to keep writing and updating! So I hope to continue hearing more from you guys as the story goes on!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this hella long chapter, because holy shit, man! I did this on a tablet, with autocorrect on my ass! I will never get over that… Feel free to validate my feats, because fuck me, how are my hands not sore?!
> 
> That's about it for now, so until next time everyone! 


End file.
